N60 : Sixtieth lesson S00-TITLE : The real thing? (From "England, England", by Julian Barnes) - Sir Jack Pitman wants to build a miniature England as a theme park. A consultant explains the marketing concept. S01 : I bow to no one in my love of this country. It's a question of placing the product correctly, that's all. S02 : England - my client - is a nation of great age, great history, great accumulated wisdom. S03 : Social and cultural history - stacks of it, reams of it - eminently marketable, never more so than in the current climate. S04 : Shakespeare, Queen Victoria, Industrial Revolution, gardening, that sort of thing. S05 : If I may coin, no, copyright, a phrase, We are already what others hope to become. S06 : This isn't self-pity, this is the strength of our position, our glory, our product placement. S07 : We are the new pioneers. We must sell our past to other nations as their future. [Several months later; the park is open.] S08 : It's a classic springtime day outside Buckingham Palace. S09 : The clouds are high and fleecy, William Wordsworth's daffodils are blowin' in the wind, S10 : and guardsmen in their traditional busbies [...] are standing to attention in front of their sentry boxes. S11 : Eager crowds press their noses to the railings for a glimpse of the British Royal Family. S12 : Promptly at eleven o'clock, the tall double windows behind the balcony open. S13 : The ever-popular King and Queen appear, waving and smiling. A ten-gun salute splits the air. S14 : The guardsmen present arms and cameras click like old-fashioned turnstiles. S15 : A quarter of an hour later [...], the tall windows close again until the following day. S16 : All, however, is not as it seems. S17 : The crowds and cameras are for real; so are the clouds. S18 : But the guardsmen are actors, Buckingham Palace is a half-sized replica, and the gun salute electronically produced. S19 : Gossip has it that the King and Queen themselves are not real S20 : and that the contract they signed two years ago with Sir Jack Pitman [...] excuses them from this daily ritual. S21 : Insiders confirm that an opt-out clause does exist in the royal contract, S22 : but that Their Majesties appreciate the cash fee that accompanies each balcony appearance. T00-TRANSLATE : Exercise: Translate T01 : They had a terrible row after Brian claimed he had to bow to the inevitable. T02 : She watched through the bow window as he mowed the lawn. T03 : Three City traders have been arrested for insider dealing. T04 : He seems too nice to be true. Is he for real? T05 : My school has opted out of local authority control.