Т е к с т № для устного перевода с листа

WORLD’S BIG PLAYERS: BUSH, BLAIR, KATE, PHIL

The world’s political leaders may be a colourful lot, but the average Briton finds them less absorbing than the Big Brother¹ survivor Kate Lawler or Phili Mitchell from EastEnders².

Showing abysmal ignorance or commendable contentedness, according to your point of view, a poll has found that TV soaps and gameshows absorb the country far more than real-life global events.

Even Saddam Hussein was correctly identified by only a quarter of the 1,000 people surveyed. Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, was recognised by only 16% and no other leader, apart from George Bush and Jacques Chirac, managed to crawl above the 10% mark.

“We can only conclude from this report that Britain is dumbing down,” said Lauren Hill, editor of Whitaker’s Almanac, which commissioned the poll.

“At a time when much of the British population has become fanatical about celebrities, we believe the government has a major role to play in encouraging people to become more interested in current affairs and the world around us.”

While Tony Blair (83%) was high in “global leader” ratings, just above President Bush (82%), the government’s profile shrank when the punters were asked to name members of the current cabinet. Only 10% of respondents, who were aged 16 up, could name five senior ministers, less than a quarter of those (46%) who knew five characters from EastEnders. The biggest recognition-winners in the survey was Big Brother: 11% could name all three Big Brother winners from the last series, with 19% able to name two and 30% at least one.

THE GUARDIAN, Oct. 21, 2002