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CASSETTE 1.
AN
INTRODUCTION AND SURVEY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND ITS
NATIVE
SPEAKERS
90 minutes
Examples of practical
English in action as the international language of
business, technology, air-traffic control etc. and the
history and development of the language from Old English
to Middle English to Modern English with examples of its
1,200 year evolution drawn from its greatest literature
through the ages: BEOWULF, CHAUCER, THE BIBLE,
SHAKESPEARE, MILTON, JANE AUSTEN, SHERIDAN, DICKENS,MARK
TWAIN, OSCAR WILDE, LORD BYRON, T.S. ELIOT, JEROME K.
JEROME and many others.
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CASSETTE 2
SCOTLAND
60 minutes
Highlights in the
history of Scotland are presented in dramatic form with
scenes and passages which include Shakespeare's Macbeth
(narrated by the famous Scottish actor GORDON JACKSON),
the Death Speech of MARY STUART, QUEEN OF SCOTS, the
story of BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE and selections from the
writings of JAMES BOSWEL, DR SAMUEL JOHNSON, ROBERT
BURNS, ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON and QUEEN VICTORIA. An
analysis of the Scottish national characteristics from
frugality to magnanimity (Andrew Carnegie) to the amazing
array of discoveries and inventions by Scotsmen, plus
informal interviews from the streets of Edinburgh on such
topical subjects as The Loch Ness Monster and Devolution
for Scotland. Scottish singers sing 12 of Scotland's best
loved songs.
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CASSETTE 3
ENGLISH SPEAKING
ASIA 60
minutes
English speaking
Indians, Pakistanis and Chinese discuss the importance of
English in Asia today for business, education, government
and national unity. The cassette tells the story of the
British adventurer/traders who took the language east in
search of spices and the rise and decline of the British
Empire. Professional actors read from the writings of
R.K. NARAYAN, SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE, ZULFIKAR GHOSE,
JOSEPH CONRAD, SOMERSET MAUGHAM, RUDYARD KIPLING and SIR
RICHARD BURTON. It contains intervidews with RIZWAN HAQ,
son of the once Chief Justice of Pakistan, and with CANON
T.R. MILFORD, founder of OXFAM, who talks about his 30
years as a teacher in India, with personal recollections
of GANDHI and the struggle for independence, the caste
system etc.
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CASSETTE 4
THE UNITED
STATES OF
AMERICA
60 minutes
400 years of American
history told through folk songs, speeches and famous
documents and the writings of America's finest men and
women of letters: NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, MARK TWAIN
,WASHINGTON IRVING, THOMAS JEFFERSON, SINCLAIR LEWIS,
LONGFELLOW, LOUISA MAY ALCOTT, JAMES FENIMORE COOPER,
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, MARY McCARTHY and others. The cassette
contains the voices of PAUL ROBESON, JOHN F. KENNEDY, and
SENATOR YARBOROUGH of Texas, and an unscripted interview
with BRENDA FOGUEL, Managing Director of an Engineering
Company, who discusses the role of women in industry.
American students debate gun control legislation, crime
and political assassination in the U.S.A.
today.
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CASSETTE
5
ENGLAND
60 minutes
The distinguished
English actors ALAN BATES and PETER BARKWORTH and others
perform scenes and read passages from the works of EMILY
BRONTE, THOMAS HARDY, A.A. MILNE, WORDSWORTH, ELIZABETH
BARRETT BROWNING, LEWIS CARROLL, EDWARD LEAR, SHAKESPEARE
etc. including the famous abdication speech of King
Edward VIII (The Woman I Love). In addition, there is a
selection of amusing eccentric letters to The Times
newspaper, and six traditional English songs.
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CASSETTE 6
THE ANTIPODES:
AUSTRALIA AND NEW
ZEALAND
60 minutes
The dramatic story of
the disovery of the Antipodes is illustrated with
passages from the actual log written by CAPTAIN JAMES
COOK. The story of its development from penal colony to
agricultural and industrial giant of Oceania is told
through Australian folk songs, ballads and writings by
colonial settlers. The well-known Australian actor KEITH
MICHELL reads from the works of Australian writers which
include BANJO PATTERSON, C.J. DENNIS, and HENRY LAWSON
plus an extract by the distinguished New Zealand writer
KATHERINE MANSFIELD. Interviews with young natives of
Australia and New Zealand give a picture of life there
today and a comparison between these two fast growing
English-speaking countries.
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CASSETTE 7
IRELAND: EIRE
AND
ULSTER
60 minutes
The historical background to
The Irish Problem is examined, with opinions and
comments on the current state of affairs in Ireland from a
selection of Irishmen, Catholic and Protestant, from both
the North and the South. Scenes and passages from the works
of the greatest Irish writers: JAMES JOYCE, J.M. SYNGE,
JONATHAN SWIFT, WI LLIAM BUTLER YEATS, SEAN O'CASEY and
LOUIS MACNEICE are read by outstanding Irish actors such as
SINEAD and SORCHA CUSACK and the late TONY DOYLE. Personal
recollections of James Joyce and Yeats are given by the late
Irish film producer BRIAN DESMOND HURST. The cassette also
contains the voice of DR GARRETT FITZGERALD, former Prime
Minister of Eire, discussing the Republic's view of the
I.R.A. in addition to six lovely Irish folk songs and the
ancient folk tale Far Darrig in
Donegal.
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CASSETTE 8
WALES
60 minutes
AERONWY THOMAS, daughter of the
great Welsh writer DYLAN THOMAS reads from her father's
prose and poetry and talks informally about her family. The
Welsh actor RAY SMITH and others read from the works of
VERNON WATKINS, WILFRID OWEN and DAVID LLOYD GEORGE, and
perform dramatic scenes from Under Milk Wood by Dylan
Thomas and The Corn in Green by EMLYN WILLIAMS. The
writer KINGSLEY AMIS, author of Lucky Jim, gives an
unscripted interview recalling his 12 years as a lecturer in
Wales. The cassette also contains folk stories and legends
from Welsh history, and the voice of GEORGE THOMAS ( LORD
TONYPANDY), the former Speaker and the House of Commons,
plus seven traditional Welsh songs.
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CASSETTE 9
CANADA
60 minutes
Two of Canada's best
known television personalities, BERNARD BRADEN and
BARBARA KELLY conduct the listener on a tour of their
country, highlighting its history; its search for an
identity and some of its literature, with readings from
the great humourist STEPHEN LEACOCK, the distinguished
contemporary writer MARGARET ATWOOD, the poets EARLE
BIRNEY and ROBERT W. SERVICE and the Canadian novelist
MORDECAI RICHLER. CHIEF LEONARD ANDREWS, and another
North American Indian accuse the Canadian Government of
mistreating the "Native Americans" in an unscripted
interview. This charge is answered by GEORGE COWLEY, a
spokesman for the Canadian Government, who also gives a
report on Quebec and French Canadian Separatism. Canadian
singers perform eight of their country's typical
songs.
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CASSETTE 10
ENGLISH
SPEAKING
AFRICA
60 minutes
Africans, black and
white, report on the importance of the English language
on the African continent today, debate the effects of
tribalism on national unity, and give candid views of the
problem of the Republic of South Africa and its former
racial policies, from a variety of viewpoints,
represented by a black freedom fighter from Soweto, a
Johannesburg housewife, and a Government spokesman from
Pretoria. DOREEN MANTLE, the distinguished South African
actress, and LOUIS MAHONEY, a black actor from The
Gambia, read from the works of CHINUA ACHEBE, DORIS
LESSING, OLIVE SHREINER, CREDO MUTWA, DR DAVID
LIVINGSTONE and KAREN BLIXEN. Four African folk songs are
sung by the Kenyan singer WANJIRU GECAU, accompanied by
African instruments.
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CASSETTE 11
AMERICA v.
BRITAIN
60 minutes
JEREMY IRONS records
the opinions of OSCAR WILDE and CHARLES DICKENS on their
visit to the United States. Critical views of Britain and
America are expressed from the works of D.H. LAWRENCE,
HENRY JAMES, DAVID HOCKNEY, GEORGE BERNARD SHAW, JOHN
ADAMS, KING GEORGE III, VIRGINIA WOOLF, RALPH WALDO
EMERSON etc. U.S. British relations are discussed by SIR
HERBERT MARCHANT, a former British ambassador, and the
American writer for television and the theatre, DICK
VOSBURGH compares American and British humour. The
cassette also contrasts the differences between the
English language spoken in the U.S.A. and in Britain, and
features the national songs of both countries. (Published
by Thos. Nelson in Japan as America and Britain in
Contrast)
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CASSETTE 12
THE ENGLISH
SPEAKING
CARIBBEAN
60 minutes
The West Indian
dramatist MUSTAPHA MATURA and the singers HYACINTH
NICHOLS from Trinidad and CY GRANT from Guyana tell the
story of the islands' mixed ethnic and cultural
background, from Columbus, through colonialism, to modern
independence, and sing nine colourful Caribbean songs.
West Indian actors read from the works of V.S. NAIPAUL
and MICHAEL ANTHONY, and perform a scene from Mustapha
Matura's play RUM AN' COCA COLA, which was a
success in London and New York as well as his native
Trinidad. The cassette also includes an unscripted
interview with a Rastafarian from Barbados, a member of
the black cult religion of Bob Marley and Reggae, who
explains and gives insight into why this Back to
Africa movement is having such an impact on black
youth all over the world.
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