messages.role: user
messages.content: OK. So here are the facts. There's an Englishman
  called B J Cunningham who has been smoking
  since he was eleven. He's a chain smoker who's in
  love with smoking. He smokes between two and
  three packets a day, and already, at the age of 30,
  has a weak chest. He was in hospital for six days
  when his lungs collapsed. 'It was at that point that
  I did actually give up cigarettes for six months. But
  then he returned to his true love. He wears black
  10 leather cowboy clothes and has a fondness for
  5
  classic Harley-Davidson motorbikes, which he has
  been riding for the past fifteen years. 'I've had
  about ten of them,' he says coolly.
  So far, not a very remarkable life. But then, B J
  15 Cunningham (no one actually knows what
  BJ stands for) had an idea one night in
  a bar in LA. 'Let's market a cigarette
  called Death,' he said to a business
  partner: 'Why?' said the partner.
  20 'It's obvious,' he explains to me.
  'When you take a packet of
  cigarettes out of your top pocket
  and put it on the bar in front of you, you're
  making a statement about yourself, exactly as you
  25 do with the clothes you wear, the music you like,
  and the newspaper you read. You're saying, "These
  cigarettes are a part of me."'
  DEATH
  'So, if you take out a packet of Benson and Hedges,
  you're saying, "I'm classy - gold packet - part of
  30 high society." If you take out a packet of Marlboro,
  you're saying, "I'm an outdoor type, I like wearing
  a cowboy hat and riding horses ..."'
  V
  C
  55 S
  'Now, if you produce a packet of Death cigarettes,"
  he continues, producing a packet of Death cigarettes
  35 to illustrate his point, 'what you're saying is... He looks at me to make sure that I'm going to
  write down what you're saying about yourself if
  you smoke Death cigarettes. But do I need to? We
  all know what Death cigarettes are about. B J
  40 Cunningham has been telling us about them since
  he started his Enlightened Tobacco Company (ETC)
  in 1991.
  Everyone has now got the joke, thank you very
  much. We've seen the black packets with their
  45 death's head on the front and the white packets
  which are called Death Lights; and we've heard
  about the coffin-shaped vending machines in pubs
  and clubs.
  However, for anyone who has managed to avoid
  50 B J's publicity, here goes. Death cigarettes are for
  the smoker who wants to say, Yes, I'm killing myself, but at least I know it, and I smoke a brand
  which doesn't try to hide the fact. 'Death cigarettes,
  concludes B J, 'say, "Don't you dare tell me to
  55 stop!"
  BJ Cunningham, now on his ninth cigarette of
  the interview, says he wants to expose the
  hypocrisy behind the tobacco industry.
  Governments can't afford to ban smoking because
  60 they receive huge amounts of money in tax.
  Tobacco companies try to improve their image by
  sponsoring sports events such as motor racin
  rugby, football, cricket, and tennis, at vast expense.
  'What everybody wants to forget is that smoking
  65 kills. That's why I'm here, to remind people that
  smoking and death are linked.'
  The ETC hoped to win a good share
  of the UK market. 'Cigarettes in
  Britain are a £12 billion industry in
  which four companies control 95%
  of the market. The question is: How
  do we get a share?' He knows the
  question but he can't afford the answer.
  The ETC can't afford to advertise like the
  big companies. It has been losing about £1
  million a year.
  DEATH
  TOBACCO SERIOUSLY
  DAMAGES HEALTH
  75
  DEATH
  SIGAMITE
  Personally, I have a very different opinion as to
  why so few people choose to smoke a brand of
  cigarette called Death. B J Cunningham has
  80 misunderstood human psychology. Of course
  smokers know that their habit is probably going to
  kill them, but they prefer not to think about it. The
  only people who are going to smoke his cigarettes
  are people like himself. When I offered one to a
  85 friend recently, his reaction was, 'You must be
  joking.' And this is what Death cigarettes are all
  about. It's a joke that was funny, but isn't funny
  any more. But B J is still obsessed by fags. 'Do you know the
  90 main reason I love my job?' he says. 'It's because it
  gives me a chance to attack the anti-smoking
  killjoys! Those puritans who try to control our
  lives. I've met many people who don't smoke, but
  who tell me that if smoking were made illegal, they
  95 would fight it. You just can't have laws which
  control every aspect of the way people live.'
  I finally started to warm to this character B J
  Cunningham. It was the end of the interview, and
  the number of fag ends in the ashtray had
  100 increased to fifteen. Perhaps he had something
  important to say after all. Not just, 'Hey,
  everybody! Look at me! I'm weird, and I'm killing
  myself!'
  
  Comprehension
  check
  Read the text more carefully. Complete the sentences
  with the best ending, a, b, or c.
  1 BJ Cunningham smokes two or three packets of
  cigarettes a day ...
  a even though he has a weak chest.
  b because he has to for his job.
  c to prove that smoking is safe.
  2
  He wears cowboy clothes and rides a Harley-Davidson
  motorbike because ...
  a he plays in a rock 'n' roll band.
  b he likes everything that comes from the States.
  c it is part of the image he wants to create for himself.
  3
  BJ Cunningham says that smokers choose a certain
  brand of cigarettes ...
  a because it shows the kind of person they are.
  b to go with the clothes they are wearing.
  c because they want to be sporty/or part of high society.
  4 We get the impression that the interviewer...
  a likes and admires B J Cunningham.
  b is bored and irritated by B J Cunningham.
  c is very angry with BJ Cunningham.
  5 BJ Cunningham says Death cigarettes are for
  people...
  a who want to be honest and aggressive.
  b who want to prove that smoking cigarettes doesn't
  kill.
  c who want to expose the hypocrisy of governments and
  the tobacco industry.
  6 BJ Cunningham says that his job...
  a is to get sponsorship for sports events.
  b is to sell as many cigarettes as he can.
  c is to be honest about the dangers of smoking.
  7. The interviewer thinks that the ETC hasn't been
  successful because ...
  a the big tobacco companies spend £12 billion on
  advertising.
  b everybody thinks that Death cigarettes are just a joke..
  c smokers don't want to be reminded that smoking kills.
  8 BJ Cunningham ...
  a wants to defend people's right to smoke.
  b wants to control the lives of smokers.
  c thinks that smoking will one day be made illegal.
  9 The interviewer warms to B J Cunningham at the end
  of the interview...
  a when B J Cunningham gives his main reason for
  selling Death cigarettes.
  b because he realizes that he is just a weird eccentric.
  c when he finally puts out his last cigarette.
messages.role: assistant
messages.content: 1. **a** - even though he has a weak chest.
  2. **c** - it is part of the image he wants to create for himself.
  3. **a** - because it shows the kind of person they are.
  4. **b** - is bored and irritated by BJ Cunningham.
  5. **c** - who want to expose the hypocrisy of governments and the tobacco industry.
  6. **c** - is to be honest about the dangers of smoking.
  7. **b** - everybody thinks that Death cigarettes are just a joke.
  8. **a** - wants to defend people's right to smoke.
  9. **c** - when he finally puts out his last cigarette.
messages.role: user
messages.content: OK. So here are the facts. There's an Englishman
  called B J Cunningham who has been smoking
  since he was eleven. He's a chain smoker who's in
  love with smoking. He smokes between two and
  three packets a day, and already, at the age of 30,
  has a weak chest. He was in hospital for six days
  when his lungs collapsed. 'It was at that point that
  I did actually give up cigarettes for six months. But
  then he returned to his true love. He wears black
  10 leather cowboy clothes and has a fondness for
  5
  classic Harley-Davidson motorbikes, which he has
  been riding for the past fifteen years. 'I've had
  about ten of them,' he says coolly.
  So far, not a very remarkable life. But then, B J
  15 Cunningham (no one actually knows what
  BJ stands for) had an idea one night in
  a bar in LA. 'Let's market a cigarette
  called Death,' he said to a business
  partner: 'Why?' said the partner.
  20 'It's obvious,' he explains to me.
  'When you take a packet of
  cigarettes out of your top pocket
  and put it on the bar in front of you, you're
  making a statement about yourself, exactly as you
  25 do with the clothes you wear, the music you like,
  and the newspaper you read. You're saying, "These
  cigarettes are a part of me."'
  DEATH
  'So, if you take out a packet of Benson and Hedges,
  you're saying, "I'm classy - gold packet - part of
  30 high society." If you take out a packet of Marlboro,
  you're saying, "I'm an outdoor type, I like wearing
  a cowboy hat and riding horses ..."'
  V
  C
  55 S
  'Now, if you produce a packet of Death cigarettes,"
  he continues, producing a packet of Death cigarettes
  35 to illustrate his point, 'what you're saying is... He looks at me to make sure that I'm going to
  write down what you're saying about yourself if
  you smoke Death cigarettes. But do I need to? We
  all know what Death cigarettes are about. B J
  40 Cunningham has been telling us about them since
  he started his Enlightened Tobacco Company (ETC)
  in 1991.
  Everyone has now got the joke, thank you very
  much. We've seen the black packets with their
  45 death's head on the front and the white packets
  which are called Death Lights; and we've heard
  about the coffin-shaped vending machines in pubs
  and clubs.
  However, for anyone who has managed to avoid
  50 B J's publicity, here goes. Death cigarettes are for
  the smoker who wants to say, Yes, I'm killing myself, but at least I know it, and I smoke a brand
  which doesn't try to hide the fact. 'Death cigarettes,
  concludes B J, 'say, "Don't you dare tell me to
  55 stop!"
  BJ Cunningham, now on his ninth cigarette of
  the interview, says he wants to expose the
  hypocrisy behind the tobacco industry.
  Governments can't afford to ban smoking because
  60 they receive huge amounts of money in tax.
  Tobacco companies try to improve their image by
  sponsoring sports events such as motor racin
  rugby, football, cricket, and tennis, at vast expense.
  'What everybody wants to forget is that smoking
  65 kills. That's why I'm here, to remind people that
  smoking and death are linked.'
  The ETC hoped to win a good share
  of the UK market. 'Cigarettes in
  Britain are a £12 billion industry in
  which four companies control 95%
  of the market. The question is: How
  do we get a share?' He knows the
  question but he can't afford the answer.
  The ETC can't afford to advertise like the
  big companies. It has been losing about £1
  million a year.
  DEATH
  TOBACCO SERIOUSLY
  DAMAGES HEALTH
  75
  DEATH
  SIGAMITE
  Personally, I have a very different opinion as to
  why so few people choose to smoke a brand of
  cigarette called Death. B J Cunningham has
  80 misunderstood human psychology. Of course
  smokers know that their habit is probably going to
  kill them, but they prefer not to think about it. The
  only people who are going to smoke his cigarettes
  are people like himself. When I offered one to a
  85 friend recently, his reaction was, 'You must be
  joking.' And this is what Death cigarettes are all
  about. It's a joke that was funny, but isn't funny
  any more. But B J is still obsessed by fags. 'Do you know the
  90 main reason I love my job?' he says. 'It's because it
  gives me a chance to attack the anti-smoking
  killjoys! Those puritans who try to control our
  lives. I've met many people who don't smoke, but
  who tell me that if smoking were made illegal, they
  95 would fight it. You just can't have laws which
  control every aspect of the way people live.'
  I finally started to warm to this character B J
  Cunningham. It was the end of the interview, and
  the number of fag ends in the ashtray had
  100 increased to fifteen. Perhaps he had something
  important to say after all. Not just, 'Hey,
  everybody! Look at me! I'm weird, and I'm killing
  myself!'
  
  Language work
  Here are the answers to some questions. Write the
  questions.
  1)since he was 11
  2) between forty and sixty 
  3)Yes he has. he gave up for six months after his lungs collapsed 
  4)For fifteen years.
  5)about ten
  6)In 1991
  7)About 1 million £ a year.
  8)fifteen