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РОСЖЕЛДОР

Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение

Высшего профессионального образования

«Ростовский государственный университет путей сообщения»

(РГУПС)

М.В. Хлебникова, В.А. Ражина

Учебно-методическое пособие по подготовке к тестированию

по английскому языку

КУЛЬТУРА И ТРАДИЦИИ СТРАН ИЗУЧАЕМОГО ЯЗЫКА

Ростов-на-Дону

2012

УДК

Хлебникова, М.В.; Ражина, В.А.

КУЛЬТУРА И ТРАДИЦИИ СТРАН ИЗУЧАЕМОГО ЯЗЫКА: учебно-методическое пособие по подготовке к тестированию по английскому языку / М.В. Хлебникова, В.А. Ражина; Рост. гос. ун-т путей сообщения. – Ростов н/Д, 2012. – 64.

Учебно-методическое пособие по подготовке к тестированию

по английскому языку «Культура и традиции стран изучаемого языка» предназначено для ознакомления студентов с различными сторонами жизни англоязычных стран. В пособии приведены различные справочные данные, представлен краткий материал о каждой из стран.

Данное учебно – методическое пособие включает страноведческий материал, соответствующий ФГОС по формированию общекультурных компетенций на занятиях по иностранному языку в высшей школе. Представленный материал дает возможность восполнить пробелы, связанные с нехваткой сведений по страноведению. Для закрепления материала авторы предлагают задания для самоконтроля, которые мотивируют студентов на работу с текстом. Представленные задания могут также помочь студентам отработать различные виды чтения (поисковое, просмотровое, ознакомительное). Базовый материал пособия дает возможность изучать тексты как с познавательной, так и с лингвистической точки зрения.

Рецензент: д. фил. н., доц. Малишевская Н.А. (ФГБОУ ВПО РГУПС)

Содержание

1. WARM – UP (РАЗМИНКА) ……………………………………. 4

2. BRITAIN – IN BRIEF ……………………………………………….4

3. SCOTLAND …………………………………………………….……7

4. WALES ……………………………………………………………10

5. NOTHERN IRELAND………………………………………………..12

6. BRITISH HOLIDAYS …………………………………………………12

7. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ……………………………….14

8. WASHINGTON, D.C. ………………………………………………….16

9. AMERICAN NATIONAL SYMBOLS ………………………………….18

10. CANADA ……………………………………………………………….19

11. AUSTRALIA ……………………………………………………………22

12. TESTS FOR SELF-CONTROL …………………………………………28

WARM – UP

1. Ответьте на вопросы и обсудите их с партнером.

1. What English speaking countries do you know?

2. Which English speaking country have you visited? What was your experience? What did you like and what did you dislike and why?

3. Which English speaking country would you like to visit and why?

4. Would you like to study at British or American universities? Why or why not?

5. If you were to live abroad, which English speaking country would you choose to settle down and why?

2. С какими англоговорящими странами ассоциируются у Вас следующие понятия и что они означают?

The queen, Broadway, maple leaf, cangooru, Big Ben, the Civil War, fast food, the Union Jack, hockey, September 11^th.

THE UK IN BRIEF

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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland comprises the four countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Britain constitutes the greater part of the British Isles. The largest of the islands is Great Britain. The next largest comprises Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. With an area of some 242,000 sq. km, Britain is just under 1,000 km from the south coast to the extreme north of Scotland and just under 800 km across in the widest part. The main areas of high land are in Scotland, Wales and Cumbria. In the centre of England there is a range of hills called the Pennines, which are also known as the “backbone of England”. The highest mountains are in Scotland and Wales: Ben Nevis is 1,343 m and Snowdon is 1,085 m. The longest rivers are the Severn (354 km) and the River Thames (346 km). The climate is generally mild and temperate. The weather is object to frequent changes.

The currency of the country is pound, consists of 100 pence.

The flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of three crosses. The upright red is the cross of St George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross is the cross of St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Since 1837 the royal coat-of-arm has depicted a shield with the three English lions, the Scottish lions and the Irish harp. The shield is supported by an English lion and the Scottish unicorn, standing on a field with the emblems of England (the rose), Scotland (the thistle) and Ireland (the shamrock); below this is the royal motto “Dien et mon droit” (God and my right). The monarchy is the oldest secular institution in the United Kingdom, going back at least to the 9^th century.

British Parliament is the legislative body of the country. Parliament consists of two houses – the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons are chosen by the electors. Citizens of 18 and over have the right to vote. They are elected either at a general election, after the Parliament has been dissolved and a new one is summoned by the Sovereign, or at a by-election, held when a particular seat falls due to the death of a member, his resignation, or a result of his elevation to the House of Lords. There are 651 members in the House of Commons (most of them are professional politicians, lawyers, etc.)

The party that has won the general election makes up the majority in the House of Commons, and forms the Government. The party with the next largest number of members in the House, or sometimes a combination of other parties, forms the official Opposition, and the leader of the Opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons. The British political scene is dominated by a two-party system: the Conservative and the Labour Parties.

The Speaker is the Chairman or presiding officer of the House of Commons. He is elected at the beginning of each new Parliament to preside over the House and enforce the rules of order.

After each general election the King or Queen invites the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons to become Prime Minister and form the Government. This minister has an official London House while he (or she) is in office; it is at No 10, Downing Street.

Соотнесите названия (1-10) и определения (a-k)

1. The Union Jack

2. 10 Downing Street

3. The Speaker

4. Opposition

5. Ben Nevis

6. The Severn

7. The pound

8. The rose

9. The shamrock

10. The thistle

1. The British flag

2. The place where the British Prime Minister lives

3. The presiding officer of the House of Commons

4. The party with the next largest number of members in the House of Commons

5. The highest mountain in the UK

6. The longest river in the UK

7. The British currency

8. The emblem of England

9. The emblem of Scotland

10. The emblem of Ireland

SCOTLAND

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Scotland is a country that is a part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland includes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides. Scotland has a western style open mixed economy.

Edinburgh, the country’s capital and the second largest city after Glasgow, is one of the largest European financial centers. These two cities are less than 50 miles apart in terms of travel, but a world apart in terms of their industry and architecture. Edinburgh is famous for its galleries and museums. The National Gallery of Scotland opened in 1859, contains works of many Scottish masters. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery shares a building with the National Museum of Antiquities. The Gallery contains Scottish portraits dating from 1500 to the present day. The museum depicts everyday life in Scotland from the Stone Age onwards, together with relics of famous Scots. The Royal Scottish Museum is the most comprehensive museum in Britain. It has four main departments: technology, geology, natural history, art and archeology. The City of Edinburgh Art Centre opened in 1971, has a permanent collection of Scottish paintings. The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art has a panoramic view of the city and shows paintings and sculpture of the 20^th century. The National Library of Scotland, founded in 1682, has over two million books and manuscripts. There is a permanent exhibition. The city is important largely as an intellectual centre. It has one of the most famous universities in Europe – The University of Edinburgh, which was founded in 1682. It is one of the most famous universities in Great Britain. The most famous sight of Edinburgh is Edinburgh Castle. It is situated on a volcanic rock 440 feet high with steep cliff walls. The possession of this rock must have been regarded as a kind of status symbol, and this would explain why the Scottish kings were so attached to it, and why the English repeatedly attempted to gain control of the castle and rock.

Glasgow with its satellite towns, forms the huge industrial heart of Scotland. It grew from being a pleasant burgh in pretty countryside into a great city, starting first in the 17^th century as a major seaport to which sugar and tobacco were imported from America and later with the development of steelworks and large docks along the river Clyde. Today Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city, and is the third in population in the British Isles, after London and Birmingham. Glasgow with its fine buildings, beautiful parks, museums and art galleries attracts thousands of visitors each year from every corner of the globe. A popular place for young and old is the city’s Museum of Transport which has a fascinating collection of tram cars, a reconstructed subway station complete with carriages, model ships, horse drawn and early motor vehicles, pedal cycles and steam locomotives. Glasgow is a university city. The Glasgow University was established in 1451. Today the university is the only nucleus of a large number of institutes scattered throughout the city. Glasgow also boats Scotland’s only opera house – the Theatre Royal. The Scottish National Orchestra performs in Glasgow. This city is the gateway to the Country of Robert Burns, a national Scottish poet and lyricist.

Scotland’s head of state is the monarch of the United Kingdom, currently the Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952). Scotland has partial self-government within the United Kingdom as well as representation in the UK parliament. Scottish law, based on Roman law, remains distinct from English.

The climate of Scotland is temperate and oceanic, and tends to be very changeable. It is warmed by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic and thus has much milder winters than (but cooler and wetter summers) than areas on similar latitudes, for example Canada, Moscow or the Kamchatka Peninsula on the opposite side of Eurasia. However, temperatures are generally lower than in the rest of the UK. Scotland is home to a wonderfully diverse range of species from the bottlenose dolphins to the thousands of seals and puffins inhabiting the coastline. Scotland’s land wildlife is typical for the north-west of Europe, although several large mammals, such as lynx, brown bear, wolf, elk and walrus were hunted to extinction in historic times. There are important populations of seals and internationally significant nesting grounds for a variety of sea birds such as gannets. The golden eagle is something of a national icon.

National symbols. The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. The flag of Scotland – the Saltire or St Andrew’s cross is thought to be the oldest national flag in use. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and St Andrew’s day on 30^th November is Scotland’s national day.

The flag of Scotland

Scottish music is a significant aspect of the nation’s culture. A famous traditional Scottish instrument is the Great Highland Bagpipe. The kilt is a knee – length garment with pleats in the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in Scotland of the 16^th century. It is most often made of woolen cloth in a tartan pattern.

Scotland has its own national drink, a fact so widely known and appreciated that one need simply ask for “Scotch”. It also has a distinctive national dress, the kilt that should be worn only by men. Besides it has its own typical instruments (the pipes, sometimes called the bagpipes), its own national forms of dancing, its own songs, poetry, another words its own customs and traditions.

capital
the largest city
sights
famous Scottish poet
universities
national drink
national symbol

WALES

Wales is approximately 242 kilometers from north to south. About two-thirds of the total population live in the South Wales coastal area, where the three biggest towns are located: Swansea, Cardiff, Newport.

The Welsh are very proud of their language and culture. These are best preserved in the north and west of the country, for in the south and east they have been more challenged by industrialization. The west coast, mid Wales and North Wales are wild and beautiful.

The only big towns in Wales are along the south coast and in the nearby coalmining valleys which run down from the southern hills. Less than half of the Welsh people live in the remaining nine-tenths of the country’s area, most of which is mountainous and full of medieval ruined castles. The Greatest of these, Caernarvon, in the north, was used, according to tradition, for the investiture of Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, as Prince of Wales. There are good castle ruins in the south as well, but the castle in the centre of the nation’s capital at Cardiff was rebuilt a hundreds years ago.

Cardiff is the capital of Wales since 1955. It is a city on the broad Severn estuary which extends into the Bristol Channel. It experienced a tremendous upswing in importance during the increasing industrialization of the past 150 years. It is both the cultural centre (with a university) and the economic centre of the principality. The Roman fort was founded here in the 1^st century AD. The character of the city was granted in 1147. As a result firstly of the construction in 1794 the canal leading into the coalmining area of Merthyr Tyafil (the economic centre of that time) and secondly of the enormous harbor and docks, which were built around 1830 for shipping coal, the population rose from 1,000.k inhabitants to the present figure about 300,000. The foundation of the National Museum of Wales in 1907 and of the Welsh University of Wales in 1893 helped Cardiff to become a cultural centre.

The Welsh language, which is Celtic, has survived in parts of the north and west, more spontaneously than the rather similar Gaelic languages of Scotland, Cornwall and Brittany. In the past decades there has been a serious attempt o revive the language. Anyone can claim a right to speak Welsh in a court of law, or to use it in academic examinations. Many official jobs are reserved for people who have at least some ability to speak Welsh. Public documents and notices are in Welsh and English, and road signs show place names only either in Welsh only or in both Welsh and English spelling.

Welsh nationalism is mainly cultural and linguistic. The national flag, with its fine dragon, is regularly displayed, the Welsh national anthem played the sung. The 800-year-old National Eisteddfod, a festival of Welsh music and poetry dating from the 12^th century, is held each year with official help. It is a competition held in the first week of August. Welsh is the official language of the festival. Prizes are awarded for music, prose and poetry, art and drama.

National symbols. The flag of Wales incorporates the red dragon of Prince Cadwalader along with the Tudor colours of green and white. It was used by Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth in 1845 after which it was carried in state to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Later the red dragon was included in the Tudor Royal arms to signify their Welsh descent. It was officially recognized as the Welsh flag in 1959. The British Union flag incorporates the flags of Scotland, Ireland and England but has no Welsh representation.

The daffodil and the leek are the symbols of Wales. Welshmen all over the world celebrate St. David’s Day by wearing either leeks or daffodils. The link between the leek and St. David’s day is the belief that he is supposed to have lived for several years on bread and wild leeks. There is a conclusive evidence that Welshmen wore leeks on St. David’s Day in Shakespeare’s time. The daffodil became an alternative to the Leek as a Welsh emblem in the present century, because some thought the leek vulgar.