Shire: comtat
Quest: expedició de cavallers a la recerca de quelcom
Middle: Earth Terra Mitja
Rooted: arrelat
Dwarf: nan

Ready?
Now read the questions on the next page.
Read them carefully before listening to the radio programme.
Presenter: It's December 2001. The first film of the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings is being shown in cinemas all over the world. Tolkienmania has reached everywhere. Almost everyone these days knows that the film is based on a book written by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, which was already popular before the films were even planned. Recently, thousands of English readers voted it the best book of the 20th century. But what is it that made this book about the little hairy men so famous?.

In our programme tonight, we have an unexpected visitor. An actor will play the role of Frodo Baggins, the main character in the film. He will answer our questions as if he were the real Frodo, the hobbit who inspired Tolkien's story

Presenter: Good evening, Mr Baggins. Thank you for visiting us tonight.

Frodo Baggins (F.B.): Good evening. It is a pleasure to be here with you.

Presenter: You are probably the person who lived closest to to Mr Tolkien during his work as creator of the so called "Trilogy of the Ring". Do you think he expected his story to be so successful?

F.B. : He wrote The Lord of the Rings for one very simple reason. He wanted to create a tale that his children might enjoy. And writing it gave him pleasure. He had been developing those stories in his mind for years. The first book in the series, The Hobbit is the kind of story he wante to tell his children as they sat by the fire on a winter evening.

Presenter: How did he meet Bilbo, your uncle?

F.B. : He had met my uncle, Bilbo Baggins, in one of his journeys to the Shire, where Hobbits live and where he used to spend his holidays. Tolkien imagined a story in which my uncle would set out in a quest for a treasure in the Lonely Mountains. My uncle and some dwarves.

Presenter: And it's in this story where the famous Ring appears for the first time, isn't it?

F.B. : Yes, that's right, he found the Ring in a cave on his way to the Lonely Mountains.

Presenter: And later, when Mr. Bilbo Baggins decided to retire, he handed the ring over to you. And that's where you first appear!

F.B. : In The Lord of the Rings, the book that follows The Hobbit, I am the one who is to save the world from the evil of Sauron, the enemy of the many races which inhabit the Middle Earth.

Presenter: Why does he want the Ring so badly?

F.B. : He knows that this Ring, which he himself created, will allow him to have all the other races under his command. So I must take it to the place where it was created, and destroy it there before Sauron gets hold of it.

Presenter: Why do you think The Lord of the Rings is so popular?

F.B. : The Lord of the Rings, is a fantasy book. It deals with some of the deepest aspects of human nature. In it we see love, friendship and sympathy, as we, the little hobbits and the other members of Frodo's group, try to help each other even if it is at our own risk.

Presenter: But this is not all. We see the dark side of men as well.

F.B. : Yes, true. We see greed when people try to use the Ring for their own benefit. And we also see hatred, fear, envy..., all those elements which are deeply rooted in the hearts of people and which can be found in many of the episodes of the story.

Presenter: Maybe this is why identify ourselves so well with the characters of the book.

F.B. : Yes. Many of us can easily see ourselves reflected in Boromir, with his greed to possess the Ring, and then with his heroic suffering when he defends me from the Orcs with his own life.

Presenter: Certainly, there's very much to choose from. You can be a hero or a villain.

F.B. : In any case, there will always be a good reason for you to go back to Middle Earth and to visit your hairy friends, the hobbits. Be assured of that!

Presenter: We would be delighted to go on this exciting trip to the world of fantasy, Mr. Baggins. And I regret to say that our time is over, and that we must say good night to you, Mr. Baggins. I'm sure there are hundreds of questions which our audience would like to ask you. Will there be a second chance to speak to you?

F.B. : We could replace my uncle Bilbo's motto "There and back again", with this one "Here and back again". I will certainly be delighted to return to this program.

Presenter: We're looking forward to that, Mr Baggins. Thanks again, and good night.