black button

Hi, I'm Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show. Today we're studying a short film called Black Button. This film has two characters and a lot of dialogue, so it could be a good one to practice reading in pairs. You could do it in class, or get together with a friend.

It could also be an interesting discussion topic. In the film a man called Mr Roberts is inside a white room, but he doesn't know how he got there or why he's there. And the door to the room is locked.

And there's a man there, sitting at a desk. And in front of the desk, there's a black button. And the man behind the desk says to Mr Roberts that if he presses the black button he'll get 10 million dollars, but someone will die. So he can choose to do that, or he can choose to not press the black button and just take the key that's on the desk and leave the room with no money. What do you think you'd do in that situation? STICK NEWS Kia ora in Stick News today an Australian jeweler is in trouble with Facebook for posting a picture of a naked doll. According to an Australian news report Facebook's prude police are out in force yet again. Last weekend a jewellery store owner received six warnings from Facebook for posting photos of nude doll. The site said the photos were inappropriate and breached their terms of service. The jeweller said Facebook staff were behaving like "philistines". And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 6th of July. Kia ora.

Word of the Day Today's word is  pertinent . Pertinent is a formal adjective which means  relevant or  appropriate to a particular situation .

Things that are commonly described as pertinent are questions and comments.

In the film we're studying today, the man who's locked in the room, Mr Roberts, says to the man behind the desk:  Who the hell are you? And the man behind the desk says:  A pertinent question, Mr Roberts, which we will address in due course.

There's an interesting contrast in the formality of language there. Who the hell are you?

Is a very informal way of asking:  Who are you? And:  A pertinent question, Mr Roberts, which we will address in due course. Is a very formal way of saying:  Good question, I'll tell you soon. conversations with sarah #786 Who the hell are you?

Step 1: Repeat Mr Roberts' lines. Step 2: Read Mr Roberts' and talk to the man. Man Ah, Mr Roberts.

Mr Roberts Who the hell are you?

Man A pertinent question, Mr Roberts, which we will address in due course. But for now let us focus on the task at hand.

Mr Roberts What are you talking about? What am I doing here?

Man You are here to make a choice, Mr Roberts, that is all.

Mr Roberts I'm sorry, I don't know who you are or where I am. I was on my way to work, and … Man And now you're here. Your choice is a simple one. If you make the right one, well, you will leave here with more than you could possibly imagine.

Mr Roberts What choice? What are you talking about?

Man Mr Roberts in front of you is a button. Should you choose to push that button, someone, somewhere in this world, will die.

Mr Roberts What kind of a sick joke is this?

Man You didn't let me finish, Mr Robert. If you choose to push that button, I will give you ten million dollars. Inside this briefcase.

Mr Roberts This is ridiculous. I'm leaving. Man You will find the door is locked.

And that was the Daily English Show. Bye links Watch today's show at youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkf_lOfsSng http://thedailyenglishshow.blogspot.com/2010_07_06_archive.html (you can find here a quiz of the lesson and the "black button" short film on video with the transcript )