1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

Are you sure that you are a polite person? Good manners are important across the globe, but that doesn’t mean they are the same all over the world. That’s what Marta Ingram, who is English, understood when she married Alexander, who is Russian.

When I first met Alexander and he said to me, in Russian, “Naley mne tchai - pour me some tea.” I got angry and answered, “Pour it yourself.” Translated into English, without a ‘Could you?..’and a ‘please’, it sounded really rude to me. But in Russian it was fine — you don’t have to add any polite words.

However, when I took Alexander home to meet my parents in the UK, I had to give him an intensive course in pleases and thank yous (which he thought was completely unnecessary), and to teach him to say sorry even if someone else steps on his foot, and to smile, smile, smile.

Another thing which Alexander just couldn’t understand was why people said things like, “Would you mind passing me the salt, please?” He said, “It’s only the salt, for goodness sake! What do you say if you want a real favour?”

He watched in amazement when at a dinner party in England we had to eat some really disgusting food and I said, “Mmm... delicious.” In Russia people are much more direct. The first time Alexander’s mother came to our house for dinner in Moscow, she told me that my soup needed some flavouring. After that when we argued about it my husband said, “Do you prefer your guest to lie?”

Alexander complained that in England he felt like a ‘village idiot’, because in Russia if you smile all the time people think that you are mad. In fact, this is exactly what my husband’s friends thought of me the first time I went to Russia because I smiled at everyone, and translated every ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ from English into Russian.

At home we now have an agreement, if we are speaking Russian, we can say “Pour me some tea”, and make just a noise like a grunt when I get it to him. But when we are speaking English he has to add a ‘please’, a ‘thank you’, and a smile.

2. What did Marta Ingram understand when she met Alexander? Read aloud the extract which says about it.

3. Can you prove that the Russian and the English ideas of good manners are different?

4. What sort of decision did Marta and Alexander make?

«____» ____________________ 20__ г.

Преподаватель_____________ Председатель цикловой комиссии _________________

Ф 12.01-088

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ

Гуманитарный колледж

учреждения образования «Гродненский государственный университет имени Янки Купалы»

ПРИЛОЖЕНИЕ № 1

к экзаменационному билету № 8

Д исциплина «Иностранный язык» (английский)

Специальность 2-010101 «Дошкольное образование»

Зимняя	экзаменационная сессия 2012- 2013 уч. года
весенняя

Курс 2 группа В

Is smoking very bad?

1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

Peter: I am an athlete. Growing up I was constantly around cigarettes, so you guessed it, I started smoking too. But as a few years passed it became more difficult to do my sports. Although I didn’t see a change at the beginning I definitely did later. Even now, I still have breathing problems even though I have given up smoking. I understand that everyone wants to experiment, but I can say to all of you — don’t make the mistake I made. Don’t be stupid guys, you’re better than that!

Kate: In my opinion, smoking should be banned in public places because nonsmokers shouldn’t breathe the smoke of smokers. For example, at the disco, smokers don’t respect nonsmokers and dance in smoke. It’s dangerous. Kids also have to be protected from smokers with a smoking ban.

Mike: Why is it that people always mention peer pressure as a big reason for people to start smoking? I started smoking to protest against my parents. Because of the simple fact — I wasn’t supposed to.

Jane: Now, some people say that smoking is done for a sense of relaxation. Let me tell you one thing, folks: I seriously think that the relaxation some of you use as an excuse for smoking comes from the movements performed by your lungs, certainly not the tobacco! Just go out and take a deep breath!

Joe: One person stated that smoking was the number one cause of death therefore it should be illegal. Actually car accidents kill more people per year. So I guess we should make driving illegal. The truth is we all need to stop screaming for everything we disagree with to be illegal. I own my body so I SHOULD have the right to do with it whatever I see fit. This includes drugs. Prohibition doesn’t do anything positive. Education is the only answer.

Sam: I understand that tobacco is addictive and very difficult to stop using later in life, but I will stand by my statement that anybody (who starts smoking today and lives in the U.S. or another developed country where the harmful effects are clear) either has lived under a rock his whole life or is just plain stupid.

2. Who is for banning smoking in public places? Read aloud what he/she thinks about it.

3. What arguments do people use to encourage others to stop smoking?

4. Can you prove that people's opinions about smoking are varied and even opposite?

«____» ____________________ 20__ г.

Преподаватель_____________ Председатель цикловой комиссии _________________

Ф 12.01-088

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ

Гуманитарный колледж

учреждения образования «Гродненский государственный университет имени Янки Купалы»

ПРИЛОЖЕНИЕ № 1

к экзаменационному билету № 9

Д исциплина «Иностранный язык» (английский)

Специальность 2-010101 «Дошкольное образование»

Зимняя	экзаменационная сессия 2012- 2013 уч. года
весенняя

Курс 2 группа В

CHILDREN AND GARDENING