In the UK， Saturday evening has always been a popular time for families to watch television together and one of the most popular programme genres[類型] is the talent show， partly because of their broad age appeal[吸引力] and also because of their interactivity[互動性]. Even early shows， like Opportunity Knocks （1956—1978）， required viewers to vote for their favourite act， be it a singer， dancer， comedian[喜劇演員] or musician， and viewers obliged[幫……的忙] in their thousands—although in those days， voting was done by postcard rather than by telephone， text or the Internet.

Today， the success of television talent shows has reached a whole new level and their scope[范圍] has broadened too， from competitions to become a top model to cookery[烹調(diào)]， singing， dancing and ice skating.

The UKs top three TV talent shows：

The X Factor—This glitzy[耀眼的] singing competition sees contestants[選手] in front of a celebrity judging panel[名人評委] before facing the public vote. The show is now made aII over the world， from China to Colombia.

Strictly Come Dancing—Celebrities team up with professional dancers and take to the dance floor to win the title of Strictly Come Dancing Champion.

Britains Got Talent—In this modern-day version of Opportunity Knocks， the viewing public can choose from a variety of acts， from dancing dogs to gymnastics[體操]. The prize is to perform for Her Majesty the Queen[女王陛下] in the Royal Variety Performance[皇家文藝匯演].

在英國，周六晚上總是家人一起看電視的黃金時(shí)段。其中最流行的一個(gè)節(jié)目類型是選秀節(jié)目，部分原因是其廣泛的觀眾年齡層和節(jié)目的互動性。即便是早期的選秀節(jié)目，比如《機(jī)遇來敲門》（1956年—1978年），也需要觀眾對他們最喜歡的演出者——比如歌手、舞者、喜劇演員或音樂家——進(jìn)行投票。成千上萬的觀眾參與了投票——只不過在當(dāng)時(shí)，投票通過明信片完成，而不是通過電話、短信或網(wǎng)絡(luò)進(jìn)行。

今天，選秀節(jié)目的成功已經(jīng)使其到達(dá)了一個(gè)全新的水平，其涵蓋范圍也進(jìn)一步加大，從超模、廚藝、歌唱、舞蹈到滑冰比賽，應(yīng)有盡有。

英國電視選秀節(jié)目前三名：

《英國偶像》——這個(gè)耀眼的歌唱比賽讓選手在面向大眾投票之前先在名人評委團(tuán)面前接受評判。從中國到哥倫比亞，現(xiàn)今全世界（各地）都在舉辦同樣的比賽。

《舞動奇跡》——明星和專業(yè)舞者組成參賽隊(duì)伍，在舞池中盡情舞蹈，就為贏得“舞王”封號。

《英國達(dá)人》——《機(jī)遇來敲門》的現(xiàn)代版本，觀眾們可以在各種各樣的表演中——從會跳舞的狗狗到體操——選擇自己喜歡的。獲勝獎勵是在“皇家文藝匯演”中為女王陛下表演。

Word of the day： Genre （n.）

Genre （from French） refers to[指的是] a type of TV show. The article talks about talent shows， but there are many other types of shows， or genres， for example， series， sit-coms[情景喜劇]， documentaries[紀(jì)錄片]， news programmes， etc.

Activity 1

True or False

1. People of all ages enjoy TV talent shows.

2. Opportunity Knocks is still on television now.

3. It used to take a lot longer for the public to vote for their favourites.

4. Britains Got Talent is mainly for musicians.

5. Each year， the Queen also does a variety of performances.

Activity 2

Fill in the missing prepositions[介詞].

1. A popular time_______something.

2. To require someone_______do something. 3. To team_____ _______someone.

4. To choose_______a list of possibilities.

Activity 3

Which show is best for：

1. Comedians

2. People who want to be popstars

3. Magicians[魔術(shù)師]

4. People who love dancing