A Cinderella writer


In this radio programme you are going to hear the following words. Read and listen to
them. Make sure you know what they mean.


Cinderella: Ventafocs
fiasco: fiasco, fracàs
wizard: bruixot
ban: prohibir
struggle: lluita


Ready?
Now read the questions below. Read them carefully before listening to this TV programme.


A CINDERELLA WRITER
An interview with J. K. Rowland


PRESENTER: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Pen Club, the radio programme
in which we talk to some of the best-selling writers of our day. Tonight in the studio is Joanne Rowland. Hello, Joanne!


J. K. ROWLAND: Hello, Nick!


PRESENTER: Dictionaries define «Cinderella» as a woman whose beauty or abilities have not been recognized, or who becomes rich and successful after a period of difficulty. This is clearly the case of J. K. Rowland. Only five years ago she was unemployed, friendless and living on social security. Today she is one of the wealthiest women in Britain, and she is also one of the most successful writers in the world. Ms. Rowland, would you first tell us something about your life story?

J. K. ROWLAND: Well, there is nothing much to say.

(...)

 

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS

1. Five years ago, in 1997, Joanne Rowland
q    A. started to write a Cinderella story.
q    B. didn't have a job and had no friends.
q    C. was working for the Social Security in Britain.


2. She spent her childhood in
q    A. Exeter.
q    B. Bristol.
q    C. Wales.


3. The quotation from an American poetess says
q    A. «Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies».
q    B. «Childhood is the kingdom where nobody lies».
q    C. «Childhood is the freedom which nobody likes».


4. The idea for Harry Potter came to her
q    A. on a train to London.
q    B. at Manchester airport in 1990.
q    C. after waiting at a bus station for four hours.


5. A small publisher in ____________ printed __________ copies of her first book in June 1997.
q    A. Boomsvery / 10,000
q    B. Bloomsbury / 1,000
q    C. Bluesbury / 1,000


6. If she published her stories with her full first name (Joanne)
q    A. boys would stop reading books.
q    B. boy readers would be encouraged to read other women's books.
q    C. boys would not buy her books.


7. Gobbledegook is
q    A. Chinese for Harry Potter.
q    B. a word the author invented.
 a dirty word she learned at nursery school.


8. Her books are being questioned in some countries because
q    A. they are rubbish.
q    B. they show the classic fight between good and evil.
q    C. kids and teenagers may wish to become wizards or witches.


9. The Goblets of Fire is the _________ book in the series.
q    A. best
q    B. last
q    C. most frightening, scary


10 Ms. Rowland's ambition is
q    A. to win the Nobel prize for Literature.
q    B. a world free from wars for Jessica.
q    C. a better world for all the kids.

transcript