Listening 7 Transcript: Mona Davis

Listening 7 Transcript: Mona Davis Mona Davis is sitting in a dark theater, eating a chocolate bar, and laughing very loudly at the movie. After a few minutes, she takes out a notebook and writes a few words in the dark. For her, it's just a normal day at work.Mona is the movie critic for Tonight Magazine. Every week, she writes about all the new movies and gives them ratings from ****(excellent)to * (awful). She sees at least two movies every day, even though she doesn't write about everything she sees. "I only write reviews of the most important movies—good or bad!"It's a dream job, but Mona needed special qualifications to get it. She studied filmmaking in college and made short movies for her classes. “I've always loved watching movies,” she says. “And it's fun to see a new movie before anyone has seen it.”Mona works hard. Some days, she sees three or even four movies in a row—starting in the afternoon and finishing at midnight. It's not always easy to stay awake for the last movie. “Sometimes I need a big cup of coffee during the evening,” she says. She makes notes about each movie immediately after she sees it. Then, the next day, she writes her reviews in the afternoon—before going to see more movies!The job does have a negative side, too. She often gets e-mails from people if they don't agree with her opinions. “Last week,” she says, “a woman sent me a very angry ten-page letter because I said her favorite actor's new movie was awful.”But Mona really enjoys her job. She says, “I'm happy when I can get more attention for movies made by young actors and filmmakers. Sometimes I can really help their careers. And it's great that so many people read my reviews every week in Tonight. I'm not famous, but millions of people enjoy my work!"