2.Acompetition

₁₉₉

_f

^l

contest

contestant

draw

draw

event

fair

fairlyindulge

judge

keep

kick

kJckoff

200

acontestofskill

abeautycontest

v totrytowin;tocompete

n Syn:competitor

n theresultofagameinwhichneitherplayerorsidewins

•Thematchendedinadraw.

v (drew,drawn)

•Thematchwasdrawn.

•Thetwoteamsdrew

n 1.athingthathappens;anincident

•Oneofthechiefeventsof1994...

_{2.anyoftheraces,competitions,etc.inasportsprogramme,}

₁

^{trackandfieldevents;}

•The800m.isthefourtheventoftheafternoon.

•Whicheventshaveyouenteredfor?

ad} freefromdishonestyorinjustice.Syn:justtomakeafairdecision

•Itisn'tfairtokickanotherplayerinfootball.

Ant:unfair

adv. inafairmanner,honestly

•You'renottreatingusfairly.

v (insmth)toallowoneselftoenjoythepleasureofsmth

•Ishallforgetaboutdietingtoday.I'mgoingtoindulge.

•OnSundaysweoftenindulgeinlongwalkstothenearestwoods.

n apersonwhodecideswhobaswonacompetition,contest,etc.

Syn:referee(infootball,boxing,etc.),umpire(incricket,bas·

ketball,tennis,etc.)

v (kept)

tokeepup(withsmbIsmth)tomoveorprogressatthesamepaceorspeedIassmbIsmth

•Slowdown.Ican'tkeepupwithyou.

•Shelikestokeepupwiththelatestfashions.

v tohitwiththefoot

•Hekickedtheballabovethegoal.

tostartafootballmatch(bykickingtheball)

lose

\1 (lost)tobedefeated;tofail

_Ant:win

loser

participate^v

participantn

pointⁿ

record

record-breakernr«ord-holder^nrivaln

rivalryn

score

score^v

agame

_{tolose awar}

^{_{money(atcards)}

•Theylosttoastrongerside.

tobeagoodIbadloser

totakepartorbecomeinvolved

toparticipateinaC()mpetitionIdiscussionImeeting

apersonwhoparticipatesinsmth

(insport)ascoringsystemusedindecidingwhoisthewinner;

Syn:score,goaltoscoreapoint

•Wewontherugbygamewith12pointsto3.

thebestperfonnanceinsporttobeatIbreakarecord

toholdtheworldrecord(inIfor)

toset(up)arecord

_Olympic}

^{an all-time record}

world

apersonwhobroketherecordapersonwhoholdstherecord

(forIinsmth)apersonorathingcompetingwithanother

Syn:opponent

therivalteam

•Wehaveanewrivalforthetitleofchampion.Shehasnorivalinthefieldofromanticflction.

Syn:competition

anumberofpoints,goals,etc.madebyaplayerorteaminagame,competition,etc.

Syn:point,goal

ahighIlowscore

tomakeascoreof50points

tokeepthescore

towin/losethegamewiththescore4to2/2to4/2to0(nil)

I.togain(points,etc.)inagame,competition,etc.toscoreagoal

_{•Hescored3pointsinthelasthalfofthegame.}

201

spirit

sporl(s)

•Shescoredthehighestmarkinthetest.

•Neithersidescoredinthegame.

2.togiveacertainnumberofmarks,points,etc.to(acompetitor)

•TheFrenclrjudgescoredourskaters5.8.

ⁿ (insport)force,effortorexcitementshownsportingspirit

teamspirit

•Theyalwayslosebecausetheyhavenoteamspirit

n(pl) I.aphysicalactivitydone

•He·fondofsport.

2.aformofsuchactivityamateurIprofessionalsportteamIathleticIcountrysports

_{asportsfieldIdayIprogramme}

sporting ^{adj connectedwithorinterestedinsporta}sportingmanIoccasion

stamina

11 anabilitytoenduremuchphysicalormentalstrain

•Marathon-runnersneedplentyofstamina.fiedoesn'thavethestaminatobeateacher.

^{support \'} tohelpsmbbyone'sapprovalorsympathyorbygivingmoney.

Syn:beafan

tosupportacauseIaclubIatheatreIateam

•^{WhichsideIteamdoyousupport?}

support n (forsmthIsmb)todosmthinsupport(of)

^{supporter fl} aregutarsupporter(ofaclubIteam)

team n agroupofpeoplewhowork,actorplaytogether

Syn:crew

_•^{Theschoolcricketteamwas/·werewinning.}

_•^{Footballisateamgame.}

^teamevents

teamspirit

^{train v} tocausesmborbecomephysicallyfitbyexerciseanddiet

•^{He'sbeentraininghardfortireraces.}

trainee	n	apersonbeingtrainedforajob,etc.
trainer	n	Syn:coach

202

_---------

.training ^{n aprocessofpreparingorbeingpreparedforasportorjob.athletic}training

togointotraining

tobein(strict)trainingfor(thegame,etc.)

win II (won)I.tobevictorious

towminabattleIcontestIrace,etc.

2.toobtainorachievesmthastheresultofacompetition,race.etc.

towansmthfromsmb

_•^{Slfewonthefirstprize.}

^{towm(smth)handsdown(infml.) towineasily}

_•^{Thelocalteam1,von(themalch)handsdown.}

winorlose=whetheronesucceedsorfails

_•^{Winorlose,itshouldbeaverygoodmatch.}

towinthetoss=toguesscorrectlywhenacoinistossedup

whichwayitwillfall(esp.todecidewhichteamwillstartamatch)

towmsmthback=toregainsmthafterastruggle

win

_" ^{•Ourteamhashad4winsandnolossesthissummer.}

winner	n	aperson,horse,etc.thatwins
winning	ad;	thatwinsorhaswon thewinninghorse,number,ticket
acbt	n	alightsailingboatbu1ltforracingandforcruismg
yachting	11	tobekeenonyachting

yachtsman n _{(pi-men)around-the-worldyachtsman}

203

_•

...----------

Part -------IV

THEPICTUREOFTHEWORLD

0wouldsomePowerthegiftgiveus

Toseeourselvesasothersseeus!

Itwouldfrommanyablunderfreeus

_{Andfoolishnotions.}

RobertBurns

_UNIT1

_{0 THEWORLDWOULDBEADULLPLACE...}

AsOthersSeeUs

WhatRobertBurnssaysaboutindividualsisequallytrueofnations•

Everycountrytendstoacceptitsownwayoflifeasbeingthenormaloneandtopraiseorcriticizeothersastheyaresimilartoordifferentfromit.Andunfortunately,ourpictureofthepeopleandthewayoflifeofothercountriesISoftenadistortedone.

HereisagreatargumentinfavourofforeigntravelandlearningforeignlanguagesItisonlybytravellingin,orlivingin,acountryandgettingtoknowitsinhabitantsandtheirlan­guage,thatonecanfindoutwhatacountryanditspeoplearereallylike.Andhowdifferenttheknowledgeonegainsthiswayfrequentlyturnsouttobefromthesecond-handinforma­

tiongatheredfromothersourcesIHowoftenwefindthattheforeignerswhomwethoughttobesuchdifferentpeoplefromourselvesarenotsoverydifferentafterall!

Differencesbetweenpeoplesdo,ofcourse,existand,onehopes,willalwayscontinuetodoso.Theworldwillbeadullplaceindeedwhenallthedifferentnationalitiesbehaveexactlyalike,andsomepeoplemightsaythatwearerapidlyapproachingthisstateofaf-

•Seetheepigraph.

204

fairs_WithalmostthewholeofWesternEuropebelongingtotheEuropeanEconomicCommunityandtheincreasingstandardisationthatthisentails,plusthemuchgreaterra­pidityandeaseoftravel,theremightseemsometruthinthis-atleastasfarasEurope1Sconcerned.Howeverthismaybe.atleastthegreatereaseoftraveltodayhasrevealedtomorepeoplethaneverbeforethattheEnglishmanorFrenchmanorGerman1snotsomedifferentkindofan1malfromthemselves.

Yes,traveldoesbroadenthemindAndlearningthelanguageandcultureofanothernationdoesJiberatiseone'soutlook.Itistobehopedthatmoreandmoreoftheordinarypeopleinallcountriesw1llhavetheopportun1tytodoboththingsinthefuture.Butwhenpeopletraveltheyshouldbeopentonewexperiences.

NationalStereotypes

Stereotypeisafixedideaorimageofwhataparticulartypeofpersonorthingislike.AfteryoureadthetextTypicallyAmerican?Discusstheproblemofnationalstereotypes.

Pre-readingtasks:

Ex.1ReadthetitleTYPICALLYAMERICAN?

Areyousurethatyouwillfindtheanswertothequestion"WhatistypicallyAmerican?

YesINo Whynot?

Ex.2Answerthequestions:

•What'syourideaofatypicalAmerican?

•WhatistypicalAmericanfood/landscapeIclimate?

•What1satypicalAmericancar?

•Whatlanguage(s)doAmericansspeak?

•WhatnationalitieslivemAmerica?

TypicallyAmerican?

"Ametica.ilmaybenewstothelearned,isapartofthehumanconditionandwtthmitsbordersthereissttllvastvarietyofinterest.amusement.goodness.evH,humor,absurdity,andalltheotherhumanattributes_"

(AiisfatrCooke)

Fewofusliketobetoldthatwe'reaverage,andAmericansarenoexception.Farworse.however.istobetoldthatwe.orthethingswedo,aretypicalofournation"Oh,that'ssotypicallyAmencan{orBritish,orFrench,etc.).··ISthekindofstatementmostofusobjectto.Generalizationsaboutnationalities(Amencansareincurableoptimists,Germansareprofessionalpessimists.andItaliansareamusedbyboth)areusuallynotwelcomed,evenwhenlhey·rebasicallyaccurate.

205

WithAmericans,thisreactionmayevengodeeper.OnegeneralizationoftenmadeaboutAmericansisthattheyvaluetheirindividualismquitehighly.Theyplacegreatem­phasisontheirindividualdifferences,onhavingagreatnumberofchoices,andondoingthingstheirownwayThisisperhapswhygeneralstatementsaboutAmericanlifestylesarefrequentlyresentedbyAmericans.PartofbeinganAmericanisnotbeing,andnotwantingtobetypical.

ThereareotherdifficultieswithsummarizingAmericanwaysoflifeandattitudes.'

Whereas,forexample,ItaliansorGermansformalargelyhomogeneoussociety-white,Christ1an.andspeakingonelanguage-America11sdonot

Suchdifficulties.whichstemfromtheenormousvarietyofAmencaandAmericans.shouldberatherobvious.LessapparentatfirstthoughtisthatofwhatwasoncesaidtobetypicallyAmencanISoftennolongerjustAmerican.largelysincetheSecondWorldWar,moreandmoreAmericansocialandculturalhabitshavetakenholdinEurope,fromcom-

_{flakesandthetelevisednewsforbreakfasttotheeveningbarbecueorgrillparty. 1}

₁

Intheearly1960s,forinstance,itwasstillpossibteforanAmericantoquipthat"inthe

US,wetakeashowereverydayandgofoodshoppingonceaweek-1nEurope,theydoittheotherwayaround"Today,ofcourse,thisisnolongerthecase.Americanhabitshavenotchangedthatmuch.butEuropeanoneshave,alongwiththetncreaseinsupermarketsandshoppingcenters.thenumberofcars,andthemodern1zattonofhousingSo-calledconvenienceandfrozenfoodsarenowaspopularinEuropeastheyareinAmerica.Simi­larly,totalkaboutacarculture.athrow·awayculture,orthegenerationgapasexclusivelyAmericanconcernsmakeslittlesensetoday.

Fortheirpart,Americansarenowbuyingsmallercars,andworkingmoreMoreand

moreofthemarecookingfromscratch'1nsteadofusingpreparedfoods.And,certainly.ItalianfashionsandFrenchwines(aswellasFrenchfashionsandltal1anwines),Germancars,andDutchcheesearesellingwellintheUSYetavera!!,trendsinlifestyleshavemovedandstillmoveacrosstheAtlanticfromwesttoeast.Anothergeneralization.thisoneEuropean,says11well."Whatthey'redoinginCaltfornJatodaywe'llprobablybetryinginEuropetomorrow"

Asaresult,thereareatleasttwogeneralizationsthatcanbesafelymade.First,Ameri­

canstendtobetrend-settersinlifestyles.And,secondly,whatisthoughttobetypicallyAmericantodayprobablywon'tbesoforlongMostinteresting,therefore,arethosehabitsandattitudes.customsandconventionswhichhavebeenconsistentlyobservedamongAmericansovertime.

Ex.3Lookthroughthetextquicklyandtrytofindoutwhythere'saquestionmark(7)attheendofthe1/Ue.

Ex.4Readthetextagainandfindtheanswerstothequestions.

•Whatmostpeopledon'tlike?

•DoAmericanswanttobetypical?

206

_l

Ex.SMatchmosttypicalcombinations(somearefoundinthetext)anddiscussthem.

1.French a.cars

2.Japanese b.restaurants

3.ltal1an . c.traditions

4 German d.prosperity

5Amencan e.technology

6Chinese f_ wines

7British g.bullfights

8Span1sh h.fashions

Doyoubelieveinstereotypes?

Ex.6There'relotsofstereotypesconcerningdifferentnationalities.Somemaybeaccuratebutverymanyarenot.Extendthelistandjustifyyouropinion.Pleaserememberthatsomestereotypesareevenoffensive.

TheAmencans	are	optimists
TheFrench	are	amorous
TheGermans	are
TheBnt1sh TheBelarusians	are are
TheRussians	are

etc

W"Note:Nationalitywordswiththedefinitearticle

Youcanusethedefinitearticlewhenreferringgenericallytonationsorracialgroups

AndhehelpedtheFrenchandlheRusslamdothesame.

Withsomegroups,youusetheandthenationalityadjective.Youdothiswhentheadjectiveendsin

'·sh','·ch','-ese',or'·ss'(unlessthereisadifferentwordwhichisusedtorefertoapersonbelongingto

thatgroup,foraexample'Swede'Of'Turk',whichdoesnotendin'-man').

WhenreferringtothepeopleofSpain,youcanuyeithef'theSp1nlah'or'rheSpaniards'

TheDutchareplanningtodothatby202.

TheChinesehavetheirownversionofthisproverb.

TheSwissseenoneedtochangetheirpolicyof'armedneutrality.'

Withothergroups,youcanusetheandthepluralfonnofthenounusedtorefertoapersonbe·

longingtothatgroup.

Asfighters,theCandioms.Australians.andNewZtalandetJhadanespe<:lallyhighreputation.

ThePoleshad!frugghrdfotfrttdomInaseriesofW1!Jendrevolutions.

.

•uaaoo••••••••••••••ooooooooooooooooooooOooooooooooooooooooooo•••••••••••

_{WemayweardifferenthGis,}

_.^•.

.

^.

^•.

^•_.

_•.

butweallwearthesamesmile•

Wemay•peakdifferentlanguage•,

buttheyareallrootedInonebasicsrammar•

Wemayhavedifferentmarriagecustom•,

_{butweallfallInlove.}

.

^{............................................................D....M...o..r.r.i.1......}

207

Ex.7Completethefollowinglists.Don"tforgetthatInsomecountriestheyspeakmorethanonelanguage.

^{Heorshecomesfrom... Heoraheis...} Heorshespeaks...Australai

AustriaBelarusBelgiumBrazilBritainCanadaChinaDenmarkFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryItalyJapanNorwayPolandPortugalRussiaSpain

Switzerland

_Turkey

Ex.8Completethefollowingstatementsu.slngarticleswherenecessaryandana­

tion•lltyword.

..

1.-----believethattheirhomeistheircastle.

2......,..-----arewellknownfortheirluxuryfastcarslikeMercedesorBMW.

3.-----areknownfortheirsmileandoptimism.

4.-:-----arethemostpopularnationontheearth.

5 -----usedtobelieveingodswholivedonMountOlympus.

6. wereruledbytheTsarsuntil1917.

7.-----arefamousfortheirhockeyteam.

8 -----arealwaysdressedinanelegantway.

9.-----believeinBuddaandreincarnation.

10. arerenownedallovertheworld,astheirmenwearspecialskirts,knownaskitts.

208

_{Ex.9WhichnationalitiesdoyouthinkmaybedescribedwiththeadjectivesInthebox:}

hard-working	easy-going	punctual	friendJy	reserved	emotional
lazy	outgo1rfg	hospitable	sociable	formal	casual
enthus1ashc	quiet	tolerant	talka1ive	soph1st1cated	well-dressed
n-loviOQ	resctful	humorous	serious	nationalistic	romantic

HereIsanotherstereotype,whichIsgenerallyacceptedbymanypeople:

THEBRITISHARECONSERVATIVE

Doyouthinkthisgeneralizationisaccurate?

Arguments

^For ...-----+• Against

Someargumentsagainst

DiscoveriesandtechnologicalInnovationsmadeInEngland:

•genet1cfingerpnntsin1901

•thelawofgravitation

•splittingatom

•clomng

_•

•

•

InventionsfirstIntroducedInEngland:

•steamengine

•railwaybetweenStocktonandDarlingtonin1825

_.

•Ul)dergroundinLondonin1863

•

' '

•

_{MostofballgamesoriginatedinEngland:}

•football.cricket.rugby,golf

•newsportseventsGladiatorswererecent1yintroducedinGreatBntain

Newtrendsandlifestyles:

•TheBeatlesintroducedanewstyleinpopmusicinmid60s

•thefamousBrit1shmodelTw1ggywasthefnttodemonstrateahip-huggngmini-skirtinmid60s

_•

_•

^•

209

EKtendthelistswiththeinformationyoufindinvarioussources.

Andfinally/-Whatothernation'slanguageisspokenaflovertheworld?Hopefullythediscussionwillleadyoutotheconclusions:

TheBritisharenotconservative

TheBritishvaluetheirtraditions

TheBritisharetrend-settersInlifestyles

©JustforFun.

Ex.10Matchthewordcombinationsinwhichadjectivesarenamesofnationali­

tieswiththeirRussianequivalents.Dotheyfitnationalstereotypesinyouropinion?

_l

^1.Chinesecompliment ^{a) aHCJlMOHOM,OOABIOHCBCTaKaHe}

_I

2. Dutchbargain ^{b)XBHApa.cnnH}

_{3. Dutchcourage} c)yi1111HenpolJ.IaRCb

_I

_{4.EngHshereakfast d)c;qe.nKa,38BepWeHHBRBblnHBKO}

5. Engll1hdisease ^{e)nbstHaYA8nb;MopenoKOneHo}

_I

_{6.Greekgift f) nprreopHbrHrepecKMHeHHIOApyrnx}

7. Indiangift ^g)OOAapoK,TlJ.IHHBce6eonacHOCTb;A8PblAaHa4es

^I _I

8.Russianroulette ^{h)OOAapoK,paCCHTBHHbiHHaOTSeTHbl09A8poK}

^{9. Russiantea} _i) ^{nnoTHbiH388TpaKCropRYHM5n!OAOM}

_{10.Americandream j) 8Mepi>1KaHCKaRM9"1Ta}

_{11.takeFrenchleave} k)"pyccKaRpynerKa" _I

Ex.11AfteryoureadaboutTheEnglishandBe/arusianCharactercommenton

howsimilarandhowdifferentweare.

_I.

TheEnglishCharacter

ThenationalcharacteroftheEnglishhasbeenverydifferentlydescribed,butmostcommentatorsagreeoveronequality,whichtheydescribeasfatuousself-satisfaction.se­renesenseofsuperiority,orinsularpride.Englishpatriotismisbasedonadeepsenseofsecurity.Englishmenasindividualsmayhavebeeninsecure,threatenedwiththelossofajob,unsureofthemselves.orunhappy1nmanyways;butasanatrontheyhavebeenforcenturiessecure,sereneintheirnationalsuccesses.Theyhavenotlivedinastateofha­tredoftheirneighbours.asFrenchmenorGermanshaveoftenhved

Manybookshavebeenwritten-evenmore,perhaps,byFrenchmen,Americans,Ger­mans,andotherforeignersthanbyEnglishmen-onEnglishtraits.Englrshwaysoflife.andtheEnglishcharacter.Theirauthorsarebynomeansalwaysinagreement,buttheytendtopointoutwhatseemtothempuzzles,contrasts.inthewaytheEnglishbehaveAfewofthesecontrastsmayservetosumuphowtheworldlooksattheEnglish.

First,thereIsthecontrastbetweentheunitytheEnglishdisplayinacrisis,theirstrongsenseforpublicorder,indeedforconform1ty,andtheirextraordinarytoleratronofIndividualeccentricities.GermansareusuallyastoundedbywhattheyregardastheEnglrshman·s

210

l.._... .__

^r

lackofrespectforauthorityanddiscipline.Frenchmenareoftenpuzzledbythevehe·menceofEnglishpoliticaldebates,bytheHydeParkpublicorator,aridsimilaraspectsofEnglishlife.whichintheirowncountrywouldseems1gnsofgravepoliticaldisturbance.Th1ssortofcontrasthasledtothecommonbeliefheldbyforeigners,andindeedbyEng·ilshmenthemselves.thattheyareamostillogicalpeople_

Second.thereISthecontrastbetweenEnglishdemocracy,theEnglishsenseofthedig­nityandimportanceoftheindividual.Therehasrecentlybeensometendencytoallowgreatersocialequality.ButVictorianandEdwardianEngland-whichforeignersstillthinkofasthetypicalEngland-diddisplayextremesofnchesandpoverty.anddrawanalmostcastelinebetweenladiesandgentlemenandthosenotladiesandgentlemen.

Third,thereisthecontrastbetweenthereputationoftheEnglishashard·headedpr,acti­calmen-the"nationofshopkeepers·-andasmenofpoetry-thecountrymenofSha:e­speareandShelley.TheEnglishtraditioninPhilosophyhasalwaysbeenrealisticandhos­tiletomyshc1sm:yettheEnglishlookdownontheFrenchasnarrowrationalists_Theap­parentcoldnessofEnglishmenandtheirreservehasbeenalmostuniversallynotedbyfor­eigners;butforeignersalsoconfessthattheyfindEnglishreservenotunpleasant,andttlatoncegetstoknowanEnglishmanheturnsouttobeaverycompanionablefellow.

From"OxfordJumorEncycfopedra".