Magazine
Awards
Before reading
Do the preparation task first. Then read the article and do the exercise.
Preparation task
Match the definitions (a–h) with the vocabulary (1–8).
Vocabulary Definition
1. …… noble a. real, not false
2. …… apparently b. to not have much money
3. …… contemporary c. to give money to someone or something in exchange for
4. …… controversy the right to advertise
5. …… to be short of cash d. belonging to the present time
6. …… to fund e. an argument about something that involves many people
7. …… to sponsor f. morally good or generous
8. …… genuine g. to give money to someone or something
h. used to say that you have heard that something is true,
although you are not completely sure about it
Awards
The Nobels are the originals, of course. Alfred Nobel, the man who invented deadly
explosives, decided to try and do something good with all the money he earned, and gave
prizes to people who made progress in literature, science, economics and – perhaps most
importantly – peace.
Not all awards are as noble as the Nobels. Even though most countries have a system for
recognising, honouring and rewarding people who have done something good in their
countries, there are now hundreds of awards and awards ceremonies for all kinds of things.
The Oscars are probably the most famous, a time for the (mostly) American film industry to tell
itself how good it is, an annual opportunity for lots of big stars to give each other awards and
make tearful speeches. As well as that there are also the Golden Globes, apparently for the
same thing.
But it’s not only films – now there are also Grammys, Brits, the Mercury Prize and the MTV and
Q awards for music. In Britain, a writer who wins the Booker Prize can expect to see their
difficult, literary novel hit the bestseller lists and compete with The Da Vinci Code for
popularity. The Turner Prize is an award for a British contemporary artist – each year it causes
controversy by apparently giving lots of money to artists who do things like display their beds,
put animals in glass cases or build a garden shed.
© 2018 British Council www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish
Awards don’t only exist for the arts. There are now awards for Sports Personality of the Year,
for European Footballer of the Year and World Footballer of the Year. This seems very strange
– sometimes awards can be good to give recognition to people who deserve it, or to help
people who don’t make a lot of money carry on their work without worrying about finances,
but professional soccer players these days certainly aren’t short of cash!
Many small towns and communities all over the world also have their own awards ceremonies,
for local writers or artists, or just for people who have graduated from high school or got a
university degree. Even the British Council has its own awards for ‘Innovation in English
Language Teaching’.
Why have all these awards and ceremonies appeared recently? Shakespeare never won a
prize, nor did Leonardo da Vinci or Adam Smith or Charles Dickens.
It would be possible to say, however, that in the past, scientists and artists could win
‘patronage’ from rich people – a king or a lord would give the artist or scientist money to have
them paint their palaces or help them develop new ways of making money. With the change in
social systems across the world, this no longer happens. A lot of scientific research is now
either funded by the state or by private companies. Perhaps awards ceremonies are just the
most recent face of this process.
However, there is more to it than that. When a film wins an Oscar, many more people will go
and see it or buy the DVD. When a writer wins the Nobel prize, many more people buy their
books. When a group win the MTV awards, the ceremony is seen by hundreds of thousands of
people across the world. The result? The group sell lots more records.
Most awards ceremonies are now sponsored by big organisations or companies. This means
that it is not only the person who wins the award who benefits but also the sponsors. The MTV
awards, for example, are great for publicising not only music but also MTV itself!
On the surface, it seems to be a ‘win-win’ situation, with everyone being happy, but let me ask
you a question – how far do you think that publicity and marketing are winning here, and how
much genuine recognition of achievement is taking place?
© 2018 British Council www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish
Tasks
Task 1
Are the sentences true or false?
Answer
1. The author is sceptical about the difference between the Oscars and the True False
Golden Globes.
2. The Booker Prize regularly awards artists for controversial works of art. True False
3. Shakespeare and da Vinci also won awards. True False
4. In the past, patronage funded artists and scientists in a way that is similar True False
to awards nowadays.
5. The author claims that awards help successful people become even True False
more successful.
6. The author admires all kinds of awards. True False
Discussion
What do you think about awards? Do they always go to people who deserve them?
Are there any unusual awards you’d like to tell us about?
© 2018 British Council www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish
Answers
Preparation task
1. f
2. h
3. d
4. e
5. b
6. g
7. c
8. a
Task 1
1. True
2. False
3. False
4. True
5. True
6. False
© 2018 British Council www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish
