1、The Most Popular Programmes on UK TVWatching TV is a very popular pastime in the UK but what kind of programmes do British people like to watch Well, the most-watched TV programmes every week are very popular dramas that are usually on at least four times every week. They are dramas based in one nei
2、ghbourhood that try to depict ordinary life in the UK - we call these dramas soap operas or soaps. In the early days of TV, there were often dramas on during the day. Back in those days, it was traditional for the husband to go out to work and for the wife to stay at home and look after the house an
3、d the children. Most of these daytime dramas were aimed at entertaining the housewives who would traditionally be at home, probably doing the washing. Companies selling washing powder would advertise their products at times when these dramas were on, and sometimes those companies would even sponsor
4、the drama. Hence the word soap.So what about the word opera Well, thats because these dramas are often an exaggeration of real life. They are supposed to represent ordinary lives but to make them entertaining, lots of dramatic events like murders, divorces, affairs etc. all happen probably much more
5、 regularly than they would in a normal neighbourhood. Most soap operas these days are shown in the evening. Each show will have several different storylines happening at once that continue over several shows. The same cast members will appear in every show too. There are lots of different soaps on i
6、n the UK on different channels but there are three main popular ones. Coronation Street has been on since 1960. It is set in a suburb of Manchester and its supposed to represent working class life in the north of England. Then theres Eastenders which started in 1985, set in the East End of London an
7、d Emmerdale, which is set on a farm in Yorkshire, in the north of England. Glossary 词汇表 pastime - 消遣, 娱乐 most-watched 收视率最高的 to depict 描述, 描写 neighbourhood 邻里关系 aimed at -瞄准, 针对 housewives 家庭主妇 doing the washing 洗衣服 washing powder 洗衣粉 advertise 做广告 sponsor 赞助 hence 因此 an exaggeration - 夸张, 夸大 affairs - 风流韵事 storylines - 故事情节 cast members 演员班底, 演员阵容 working class 工人阶层 murders - 谋杀 divorces 离婚
