AUDIO SCRIPTS
175
3
I’ve enjoyed many of the Sherlock Holmes
films and Holmes is the most portrayed
movie character, with more than 70 actors
playing the part in over 200 films. I enjoyed
watching Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee
portraying Holmes and also recent versions
with the brilliant Robert Downey Jnr. I also
like the modern series set in New York
which stars Lucy Liu as Dr Watson. But to
be honest, I prefer the books, which made a
huge impression on me when I first read them,
and the reason’s simple. Sherlock Holmes
himself is a fascinating person … someone
we can all admire. He’s got a brilliant intellect
and incredible analytical powers. He’s also
got amazing powers of observation – just by
looking at people, he can deduce all kinds
of things about them and their lives. He’s
supremely talented as a detective and can solve
the most difficult cases. But he has human
failings as well. He has character flaws, like
he can be very arrogant – especially in his
relations with his sidekick, Dr Watson. Watson
accompanies him on most cases, and he isn’t
stupid, but Holmes is so brilliant! And he’s
a very courageous person, especially when
dealing with some very dangerous men. He’s
knowledgeable and he’s talented musically. He
often plays the violin when he’s in an unhappy
mood. He’s very believable as the main
character in the stories. When I was young, my
uncle used to read extracts from the stories to
me, and he could quote pages of the stories by
heart. I love Sherlock Holmes and I’ve re-read
the stories many times.
LESSON 6.2 RECORDING 6.3
One book that has made a huge impression on
me is ‘Around theWorld in 80 Days’ by the French
writer JulesVerne. It’s always been my favourite
novel. I’ve re-read it many times and each time it’s
exciting and new. There have been two films
based on the book. The first was made in 1956
and starred David Niven. It is quite old-fashioned,
but it is quite true to the book. The newer version
has great special effects and some great actors,
but it changes the plot too much in my opinion.
The book is about a British gentleman, Phileas
Fogg, and his new French valet, Jean Passepartout,
who set out to prove that they can travel all the
way around the world in 80 days. Apart from the
adventures they have travelling by train and boat,
there is a detective following them who believes
that Fogg is a bank robber fleeing the country. As
a child, I loved the descriptions of the places they
travelled to and the people they met. I’m sure it
had a big influence on my own life as I have also
made some epic journeys since I left school.
Fogg isn’t an experienced traveller, but the book
was written at a time when the British upper-class
were full of confidence and felt that they could
always overcome any problems that occurred. In
India, they take a train from Bombay in the west
to Calcutta in the east only to find that the railway
hasn’t been finished yet. Fogg simply finds a local
with an elephant for sale and continues his journey
riding on its back. In Hong Kong, Fogg misses his
boat to Japan and has to travel to Shanghai and
then onwards on another boat. There is a lot of
humour in the novel, especially with Passepartout
and the detective Fix. At first, Passepartout thinks
the detective is just a friendly fellow passenger who
asks lots of questions. Then the valet thinks he may
be a spy trying to stop them from completing their
journey in time. Finally, the detective tells him that
his master is a bank robber, but Passepartout can’t
believe it. Once they leave Hong Kong, which was
British at the time, Fix knows that he can’t arrest
Fogg until they return to England so, from then on,
he starts to help them, wanting them to get home as
quickly as possible.
There are more problems in the USA with bison,
Native Americans and a broken bridge. They miss
their boat again in NewYork, and the one they do
catch runs out of fuel. Fogg has to buy the boat so
that he can tell the crew to burn everything made
of wood to keep the boat going. Finally, in a great
ending, Fogg arrives home thinking he has taken
a day too long to complete the journey until he
realises that, as he has been travelling east, he has
crossed the International Date Line and there are
still a few minutes left to get to the finishing line.
The book was published in 1872, at a time of great
developments in transportation. The railways across
the USA and India had made it possible to cross
these vast landmasses and the opening of the Suez
Canal had cut weeks off the time taken to sail from
Europe to India. Verne helped to promote interest
in foreign travel with his wonderful, funny and
exciting novel.
LESSON 6.3 RECORDING 6.4
1
When I was in elementary school I was a
devoted reader and a good student. I used to
read in bed for an hour every night before I fell
asleep. And at school I would go to the library
every afternoon. I loved reading. Then my dad
lost his job and we kept moving schools. As
soon as I got used to the new school and new
friends I would have to leave. And finally I
ended up in a school where reading was not
cool, certainly not for boys. My grades got
worse and I would only read one or two books
a year. When I left school, I joined a band and
started composing songs. I started reading again
because reading helped me understand the
world and understand myself, and helped me
find ideas for my songs.
2
I used to read more than one book at a time and
sometimes I’d have three or four on the go. But
in recent years, I’ve mainly stuck to one book
at a time, although if I’m reading a hardcover
I’ll sometimes have a paperback on the side to
bring on the train or to read in the bath. And
that’s my favourite place for reading – the bath –
and if it’s a really good book I’ll keep reading till
the water goes cold. Life would be a much less
interesting place if I didn’t read.
3
As a child I loved to read and I would read in
bed almost every night. But now I seem to have
lost my love of reading. I used to love it. And
I mean love it. I was a bookworm. I used to
read, like, a whole novel in one day or less than
a day. I loved imagining myself in the book.
But now I’ve lost interest in them – even my
favourite books that I would read over and over.
To be honest, I think it’s down to the Internet. I
seem to have lost my attention span and focus.
I used to read entire books in one sitting, now
I put them down to check my phone, forget
about them, only read the beginning and then
lose interest.
4
I didn’t use to read a lot. It once took me a year
to read Martin Johnson, the ex-England Rugby
Captain’s autobiography. I used to read a page
a night and I would get bored really quickly. I
hated reading at school because I’m dyslexic.
However, I’m reading a lot more now. Recently,
I’ve been reading the Lee Childs novels and I
read two chapters a night and actually I’m really
proud of myself.
5
Before I became a librarian, I used to read
pretty exclusively within the fantasy/sci-fi
genres. Even now those are my go-to book
choices. However, I try to continuously
remind myself to read across as many genres
as possible because advising readers is a big
part of my job. And actually I really enjoyed
reading George Eliot’s
Middlemarch
. It’s not
the sort of book I would normally read, but
it had everything – great characters, great
stories and great descriptions of the scenery
and countryside. It was warm and funny
and gripping. I’m reading more now than I
did when I was younger … and I’m reading
different genres as well.
LESSON 6.3 RECORDING 6.6
I used to read in bed for an hour every night
before I fell asleep.
LESSON 6.4 RECORDING 6.7
J = Jerry, F= Francesca
J
I’ve got a great idea for a film, Francesca.
I’m sure it’ll be a winner.
F
Really? OK, try it out on me. Imagine I’m
the management listening to your pitch. If
it’s really good, we can work on it and enter
the competition.
J
OK, I’m confident you’ll like my idea.
F
I hope so.
J
OK, I’ll start. Good morning, everyone, I’m
sure you’ll find our concept exciting and
original. I’ll start with the storyline. Two
women are returning from college to their
parents’ houses. On the way, they find the
road’s closed, with a notice saying ‘Do not
enter’. A local man explains that there was
an awful murder last night at the house on
the hill. The women are in a hurry. They
ignore the notice and go down the road.
They’re never seen again. I think you’ll agree,
it’s a really interesting and creative idea.
Of course, we’ll have to work out the
details. It’s just a storyline at the moment.
But it’s got a lot of potential and it could
be a real winner. A woman disappears and
no one knows what’s happened to her. It’s
really … intriguing.
Turning now to the actors. We’d like to
get stars, if possible – young actors who’ve
already proved themselves. We’re thinking
of Naomi Watts and Jennifer Lawrence – the
one who was in
Hunger Games
. They’re both
really attractive and good actors. They’d be
perfect. The budget, I think, would allow us
to use well-known actors. They’re bound to
appeal to the audience who’d go to the film.
F
OK, so, who is our target audience? Who
do we have in mind?
J
I’d say the twenty-to-forty-year-old group.
They’re the ones that go regularly to the
cinema. They’ll love our concept. It’s got such
a wide appeal:, two female characters, mystery
and danger. It’s biggest selling point would be
that it’s a thriller and also a horror film.
OK, to summarise, our concept has a
fascinating storyline. We think it’s got
tremendous potential. The audience will
want to know what’s happened to the two
women. Have they disappeared for ever?
That’s the mystery the film will solve. There’ll
be all kinds of twists and turns in the plot,
and a lot of human interest. We really
believe in our concept and hope we’ve
managed to convince you too … What do
you think, Francesca? Do you like the idea?
F
I absolutely love it, It’s a fantastic plot. Well
done!
J
Great, I thought you’d like it.
