LESSONE 66

THE EIGHT O'CLOCK NEWS

Good evening, and here is the Eight O'Clock News. Robert Gibbs, the great plane robber, has been caught in Montina. He was arrested in a Vanadelo night club. He is being questioned at police head quarters, and he'll probably be sent back to Britain. Two British detectives left Heathrow earlier this evening, and they will help the police in Vanadelo with their enquiries. In 1978 Gibbis was sentenced to forty years in prison for his part in the Great Plane Robbery. He escaped from Parkwood Maximum Security Prison in April. Since then he has been seen in ten different countries.

The strike at Fernside Engineering in Brimingham has ended after talks between trade union leaders and management representatives. The strike began last weekend after a worker had been sacked. He had had an argument with a supervisor. Five thousand men went on strike. The worker has now been re-employed.

Vic Bostik, the lead guitarist of The Rats pop group, is dead. He was found unconscious in his Mayfair flat early this morning. Bostik was rushed to St. Swithin's Hospital, but doctors were unable to save his life. A number of bottles, which had been found in his flat, were taken away by the police.

There is no more news about the famous Lanstable painting, Norfolk Sunset, which was stolen last night from the National Gallery. The painting, which is worth half a million pounds, was given to the gallery in 1975. It hasn't been found yet, and all airports and ports are being watched. Cars and trucks are being searched. A reward of £10,000 has been offered for information.


Jumbo, the Indian elephant which escaped from London zoo this afternoon, has been caught. Jumbo was chased across Regent's Park, and was finally captured at a hot dog stall in Regent's Park Road. A tranquillizer gun was used, and Jumbo was loaded onto a truck and was taken back to the zoo. At the zoo, he was examined by the zoo veterinary surgeon. Fortunately no damage had been done, and Jumbo will be returned to the elephant house later tonight.

Jimmy Mac Tavish, the Eastfield United and Scotland striker, had been transferred. The contract was signed at lunchtime. He was transferred to the American Club, Miami Galaxy, for $3,000,000. Mac Tavish, aged 23, was bought two years ago for a fee of £2000 from a Scottish non-league club.



LESSONE 67


REVIEWS

FILMS
Monsters of the Deep
Produced by Anton Wells.
Directed by Stephen Slovanski.
Written by Harvey Foster.
Music composed by Oliver Lawrence.

Monsters of the Deep, which is now being shown at the Odeon, Leicester Square, is one of the most exciting films I've ever seen. It was made in Hollywood last year, but the sharks were filmed on location off the coast of Florida. Steve Newman is brilliant as a shark hunter, but the real stars are the sharks themselves. It can be seen at cinemas in the provinces from next week. Don't miss it!

BOOKS
Atlantic Crossing
Written by Eric Redwood.
Published by Heath Brothers
(£12.95).

This book tells the story of Eric Redwood who crossed the Atlantic Ocean alone in a small wooden boat. The boat was made in Ireland, and was designed like the boats which were used by Irish fisherman one thousand years ago. Redwood thinks America was first discovered many years before Columbus was born. The designs for the boat were taken from old books which had been found in an Irish monastery. The book is beautifully illustrated with many colour photographs and maps. The photographs were taken by Redwood himself during the voyage.

RECORDS

Songs of the City
By Lisa Francis (XYZ Records)
Produced by Martin Duncan.

All the songs on this new album were written by Lisa herself, and the album was recorded live during her recent successful concert tour. She is accompanied by several well-known musicians, Elton Kash, Dave Langdown, Ken Thompson, and Tony Lloyd. There is a great variety of music on the album — gentle romantic ballads, soul music, and exciting rock songs. The words to all the songs are printed on the back of the cover.

TELEVISION
Last of the Eagle?
Directed by Barbara Anfield.
(BBC-TV)

This documentary, which was first shown on BBC 2 last year, will be repeated on BBC 1 next week. The golden eagle is now found in only a few remote places in Scotland. In recent years nests have been stolen. Eagles are protected by law, but they are threatened with extinction. Barbara Anfield spent a year making this programme. The everyday habits of the eagle have been recorded for future generations.


Proper names

EXTENSION of PASSIVES

 Modal CAN.can + be + past participle  


LESSONE 68

ELVIS PRESLEY — STORY OF A SUPERSTAR

When Elvis Presley died on 16th August, 1977, radio and television programmes all over the world were interrupted to give the news of his death. President Carter was asked to declare a day of national mourning. Carter said: “Elvis Presley changed the face of American popular culture... He was unique and irreplaceable”. Eighty thousand people attended his funeral. The streets were jammed with cars, and Elvis Presley films were show on television, and his records were played on the radio all day. In the year after his death, 100 million Presley LPs were sold.
Elvis Presley was born on January 8th, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. His twin bother, Jesse Garon, died at birth. His parents were very poor and Elvis never had music lessons, but he was surrounded by music from an early age. His parents were very religious, and Elvis regularly sang at church services. In 1948, when he was thirteen, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. He left school in 1953 and got at a job as a truck driver.
In the summer of 1953 Elvis paid $4 and recorded two songs for his mother's birthday at Sam Phillips' Sun Records studio. Sam Phillips heard Elvis and asked him to record That's All right in July 1954. 20,000 copies were sold, mainly in and around Memphis. He made five more records for Sun, and in July 1955 he met Colonel Tom Parker, who became his manager in November. Parker sold Elvis's contract to RCA Records. Sun Records got $35,000 and Elvis got $5,000. With the money he bought a pink Cadillac for his mother. On January 10th, 1956, Elvis recorded Heartbreak Hotel, and a million copies were sold. In the next fourteen months he made another fourteen records, and they were all big hits. In 1956 he also made his first film in Hollywood.
In March, 1958, Elvis had to join the army. He wanted to be an ordinary soldier. When his hair was cut thousands of women cried. He spent the next two years in Germany, where he met Priscilla Beaulieu, who became his wife eight years later on May 1st, 1967. In 1960 he left the army and went to Hollywood where he made several films during the next few years.
By 1968 many people had become tired of Elvis. He hadn't performed live since 1960. But he recorded a new LP From Elvis in Memphis and appeared in a special television programme. He became popular again, and went to Last Vegas, where he was paid $750,000 for four weeks. In 1972 his wife left him, and they were divorced in October, 1973. He died from a heart attack. He had been working too hard, and eating and drinking too much for several years. He left all his money to his only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. She became one of the richest people in the world when she was only