Legacy B2 pt 2 Cultural and Intercultural Communication 3,4,5&6

The Wayback Machine lets users see pages that no longer exist online.

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The Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library based in the USA whose aim is to provide ‘universal access to all knowledge’. It started in 1996 with the aim of archiving the Internet itself, which at the time was only just starting to grow. Now it has over 20 years of web history available and accessible, including over 330 billion web pages, 20 million books and texts, 4.5 million audio recordings, 7 million videos and images and thousands of software programs. That amounts to more than 40 million Gigabytes of data. The US Library of Congress, now the world’s biggest physical library, contains approximately 0.1% of this figure by comparison. The Archive’s search tool, ‘The Wayback Machine’ allows users to visit snapshots of now gone or previous versions of websites.

Anyone can open a free account and take advantage of the site’s collection. Users can also upload media to be added to the archive as well as downloading or borrowing digital versions of books. Digitisation of the books started in 2005 and today around 1000 books are scanned and uploaded on a daily basis in 28 locations around the world.

Millions of people use the website each day and it is now listed in the top 300 sites in the world. All of this takes an incredible amount of resources and power, as 500 million new pages are added to the archive every week, including weblinks, blogs and news articles. To keep access free, the Internet Archive receives support through grants and donations, and offers services such as web archiving and book digitisations. It also provides updates via blog and social media and even has its own online shop with official merchandise.

Question: The Internet Archive has the largest digital collection in the world.

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The Royal National Theatre, London

The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the most popular publicly-funded theatres in the UK. In 1988, it was granted permission by Queen Elizabeth II to add “Royal” to its title, but it is still commonly known by Londoners as the National. Its first performance, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, – starring Peter O’ Toole – premiered on 22nd October 1963 at The Old Vic theatre in Waterloo. It relocated to the South Bank in 1976, so it is now within walking distance from London’s renowned theatre district, the West End. The National Theatre building houses three separate theatres: the Olivier, which has a seating area for 1,100 people, the Lyttelton, which can accommodate 890 people and the Dorfman – the smallest of the three, which can host an audience of 400. The Olivier Theatre is the main auditorium which is modelled on the ancient Greek theatre of Epidaurus, with an open stage and a seating area in the shape of a fan.

It was named after the award-winning British actor, director and producer Sir Laurence Olivier, to acknowledge his contribution as the theatre’s first artistic director. As well as staging over 20 new productions each year at the National Theatre building, the company tour the UK with a wide repertoire of productions, from Shakespeare to contemporary plays. In 2009, the National’s productions became even more widely accessible with the launch of National Theatre Live (NT Live): a live broadcast of performances in cinemas and theatres across the UK and abroad, which have been extremely popular; the 2015 broadcast of Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch has been watched by over one million people around the world so far. It’s no wonder, therefore, that the National Theatre maintains a global reputation for excellence.

Question: The Royal National Theatre is located in ...

A the West End.

B Waterloo.

C South Bank.

D Covent Garden.

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• B

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• D

The Olivier Theatre is named after Sir Laurence Olivier because ...

A he worked at the theatre.

B he was a famous British actor.

C he won a lot of awards.

D he designed the theatre.

• A

• B

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In what year did the National Theatre first reach foreign audiences?

A 1988

B 1976

C 2009

D 2015

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• D

Why is the National Theatre known globally?

A They hire international movie stars.

B They only produce plays by Shakespeare.

C They broadcast live performances around the world.

D They tour the UK with their best production.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Match the following words to their synonyms

• modern

• tour

• travel

• shape

• form

• contribution

• offered

• granted

• input

• contemporary

1 The state-of-the-art ​ (a)   accommodates up to 1150 people.

2 This is our most ambitious ​ (b)   to date; we’re using a lot of special effects!

3 West End is London’s famous theatre ​ (c)   .

4 The National Theatre’s most popular live ​ (d)   so far is Hamlet.

5 The theatre’s​ (e)   includes everything from Shakespeare to Cats.

• auditorium
• production
• district
• broadcast
• repertoire
• show
• act
• event

1 Sir Ian McKellen was excellent in the role of the Richard III; he’ll be a tough ​ (a)   to follow.

2 What’s taking you so long? Let’s get this ​ (b)   on the road or we’ll be late!

3 I could never be an actress; I don’t enjoy being in the​ (c)   at all.

4 “Break a ​ (d)   !” Sarah said as Tara headed backstage to get ready for the opening night.

5 The whole cast were good but it was the leading man who really stole the ​ (e)   .

• act
• show
• limelight
• leg
• crew

1 This museum sometimes holds exhibitions with items on​ (a)   from private collectors.

2 This museum is on the list of National Historic ​ (b)   in New York City.

3 This museum holds a superb ​ (c)   of ancient Greek art.

4 This institution offers free ​ (d)   to all.

• loan
• Landmarks
• collection
• admission