952

Although the evidence for ghosts is largely anecdotal, the belief in ghosts throughout history has remained widespread and persistent.

In many historical accounts [сообщение], ghosts were thought to be deceased people looking for vengeance [месть], or imprisoned on earth for bad things they did during life. Most cultures have ghost stories in their mythologies. Many stories from the Middle Ages and the Romantic era rely on the macabre [жуткий] and the fantastic, and ghosts are a major theme in literature from those eras.

Ghost stories date back to ancient times, and can be found in many different cultures.

Many Eastern religious traditions also subscribe to [присоединяться к] the concept of ghosts. The Hebrew Torah and the Bible contain few references to ghosts, associating spiritism with forbidden occult activities. In the New Testament, Jesus has to persuade the Disciples that he is not a ghost following the resurrection. In a similar vein [подобным образом], Jesus' followers at first believe him to be a ghost when they see him walking on water.

(3) Critics of "eyewitness ghost sightings" suggest that limitations of human perception and ordinary physical explanations can account for such sightings; for example, air pressure changes in a home causing doors to slam, or lights from a passing car reflected through a window at night. Pareidolia [парейдолические иллюзии (зрительные иллюзии фантастического содержания)], an innate tendency to recognize patterns in random perceptions, can cause people to believe they have seen ghosts. Reports of ghosts "seen out of the corner of the eye" may be accounted for by the sensitivity of human peripheral vision. According to skeptical investigator Joe Nickell: ...peripheral vision is very sensitive and can easily mislead, especially late at night, when the brain is tired and more likely to misinterpret sights and sounds.

Sound is thought to be another cause of supposed sightings. Frequencies lower than 20 hertz are called infrasound and are normally inaudible, but scientists Richard Lord and Richard Wiseman have concluded that infrasound can cause humans to experience bizarre feelings in a room, such as anxiety, extreme sorrow or even the chills.

Carbon monoxide [угарный газ] poisoning, which can cause changes in perception of the visual and auditory systems, was recognized as a possible explanation for haunted houses as early as 1921.

Another potential explanation of apparitions is that they are hypna-

91

gogic [гипногогический (относящийся к состоянию засыпания, напр. о галлюцинациях)] hallucinations.

The traditional perception of ghosts wearing clothing is considered illogical by some researchers, given the supposed spiritual nature of ghosts, suggesting that the basis of what a ghost is said to look like and consist of is quite dependent on preconceptions made by society. Skeptics also say that, to date, there is no credible scientific evidence that any location is inhabited by spirits of the dead.

1.Продолжите предложение: According to the passage, ghosts are… A persons within the persons.

B deceased people looking for vengeance. C hypnagogic hallucinations.

D anomalous phenomena.

2.Определите, какое утверждение соответствует содержанию текста.

A In ancient cultures the body was an exact reproduction of its soul in every feature.

B Sleep, trance or death are the temporary absence of the soul.

C They say ghosts in colder climates appear visibly as a white mist. D Ghosts were thought to be deceased people imprisoned on earth

for bad things they did during life.

3.Определите, какое утверждение не соответствует содержанию текста.

A In ancient cultures the human soul was symbolically or literally depicted as a bird or other animal.

B Ghosts are composed of a misty, airy, or subtle material. C Ghosts are often associated with hauntings.

D The term “ghost” is rather precise as it means “spiritus”.

4.Ответьте на вопрос.

What is animism?

5. Укажите, в какой части текста (1, 2, 3) содержится ответ на вопрос.

What is pareidolia?

92

6.Укажите, какой части текста (1, 2, 3) соответствует следующая идея.

Belief in ghosts is widespread as ghost stories can be found in many different cultures.

7.Определите, является ли утверждение: «About one third of Americans believe in the existence of ghosts.» ложным / в тексте нет инфор-

мации/истинным.

8.Какая из предложенных ниже моделей больше подходит для описания следующей мысли: There is no credible scientific evidence that any location is inhabited by spirits of the dead.

А His conclusions based on…..

B In the last part the author describes… C The author summarize that...

D In the conclusion the author gives us summary of his results.

9. Какое из данных ниже предложений можно описать с помощью следующей модели аннотирования: The author takes into account that…

А...peripheral vision is very sensitive and can easily mislead, especially late at night, when the brain is tired and more likely to misinterpret sights and sounds.

B Many Eastern religious traditions also subscribe to the concept of ghosts.

C A ghost is said to be the apparition of a dead person.

D In the Bible, God is depicted as animating Adam with a breath.

Text 39. Globalization (Глобализация)

(1) Globalization is a process of interaction (взаимодействие) and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. This process has effects on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-beingin societiesaround the world.

Globalization is not new, though. For thousands of years, people – and, later, corporations – have been buying from and selling to each other in lands at great distances, such as through the famed Silk Road across Central Asia that connected China and Europe during the Middle Ages. Likewise, for centu-

93

ries, people and corporations have invested in enterprises in other countries. In fact, many of the features of the current wave of globalization are similar to thoseprevailingbefore the outbreak ofthe First World War in1914.

But policy and technological developments of the past few decades (десятилетия) have increased cross-border trade, investment, and migration so large that many observers believe the world has entered a qualitatively new phase inits economic development.

(2)In the years since the Second World War many governments have adopted free-market economic systems, vastly increasing their own productive potential and creating new opportunities for international trade and investment. Governments alsohavenegotiated dramatic reductions in barriers tocommerce and have established international agreements to promote trade in goods, services, and investment. Taking advantage of new opportunities in foreign markets, corporations have built foreign factories and established production and marketing arrangements with foreign partners. A defining feature of globalization,therefore,is an internationalindustrial and financialbusinessstructure.

Technology has been the other principal driver of globalization. Advances in information technology, in particular, have dramatically transformed economic life.

(3)Globalization is deeply controversial (спорный, противоречивый,

дискуссионный), however. Proponents (защитники, сторонники) of globalization argue that it allows poor countries and their citizens to develop economically and raise their standards of living, while opponents of globalization claim that the creation of an unfettered international free market has benefited multinational corporations in the Western world at the expense of local enterprises, local cultures, and common people. Resistance to globalization has therefore taken shape both at a popular and at a governmental level as people and governments try to manage the flow of capital, labor, goods, and ideas that constitute the current wave of globalization.

To find the right balance between benefits and costs (доходы и издержки) associated with globalization, citizens of all nations need to understand how globalization works and the policychoices facing them and their societies.

1.Определите, какое утверждение соответствует содержанию текста.

A Information technology is the driving force of globalization.

B Since the First World War the world has entered a quantitative new phase of globalization.

94

CNowadays a defining feature of globalization is an international industrial and financial business structure.

DGlobalization is a process of investing money in local corpora-

tions.

2.Определите, какое утверждение не соответствует содержанию текста.

ASupporters of globalization say that this process can raise their standards of living.

BOpponents of globalization claim that this process works for Western multinational corporations.

CProduction and marketing arrangements with foreign partners is a characteristic feature of globalization.

DCitizens of all nations should accept principles of globalization.

3.Ответьте на вопрос.

What is globalization?

4.Укажите, в какой части текста (1, 2, 3) содержится ответ на вопрос.

How did people interact with each other centuries ago?

5.Укажите, какой части текста (1, 2, 3) соответствует следующая идея.

Globalization influences all spheres of human life.

6.Определите основную идею текста.

ATo lead happy life people should trade with each other.

BGlobalization is the consequence of people integration.

COnly technological progress can increase cross-border trade and investment.

DGlobalization is deeply controversial.

7.Определите, является ли утверждение: «The term globalization is derived from the root word “globalize”, which refers to the emergence of an international network of social and economic systems.» ложным / в

текстенетинформации/истинным.

8.Составьте второе предложение с предложенным словом таким

95

образом, чтобы оно имело тот же смысл, что и первое предложение.

1.Governments have established international agreements to promote trade in goods, services, and investment.

by

To promote trade in goods, services, and investment, international agreements ……………………………….. governments.

2.Advances in information technology have dramatically transformed economic life.

caused

Advances in information technology ……………………………….

in economic life.

3.Globalization allows poor countries and their citizens to develop economically.

due

………….…………. poor countries and their citizens can develop economically.

9.Какая из предложенных ниже моделей больше подходит для описания следующей мысли: In the years since the Second World War many governments have adopted free-market economic systems, vastly increasing their own productive potential and creating new opportunities for international trade and investment.

А The author recalls… B The author criticizes… C The author condemns…

D The author passes on to…

10.Какое из данных ниже предложений можно описать с помощью следующей модели аннотирования: The author starts by telling the reader about…

А Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology.

B Globalization is not new, though.

C Globalization is deeply controversial, however.

D Technology has been the other principal driver of globaliza-

tion.

96

Text 40. Terrorism

(1)The word «terrorism» is controversial. Definitions of «terrorism» generally involve some or all of the following: 1) a terrorist act is generally unlawful; 2) it is violent and may be life threatening; 3) the violence is politically motivated; 4) the direct targets are civilians; 5) the direct targets may not be the main targets; 6) the main targets may be one or more na- tion-states, governments, or societies; or a political, ethnic, or religious group, or an industry or commercial operation, within those societies; 7) the objective is usually to frighten the main targets; 8) there may or may not be a claim of responsibility.

(2)Terrorism expert A. P. Schmid of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention has proposed a short legal definition for use by the UN, namely that an act of terrorism is «the peacetime equivalent of a war crime». The words «terrorism» and «terror» originally referred to methods employed by regimes to control their own populations through fear, a tactic seen in totalitarian regimes such as Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. The current use of the term relies more on the example of the 19th-century revolutionaries who used the technique of assassination, particularly the anarchists and Narodniks (populists) in Tsarist Russia, whose most notable action was the assassination of Alexander II.

(3)In response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, political leaders from Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East have placed the phenomenon of terrorism within the context of a global struggle against systems of government perceived by those accused of using terrorist tactics as harmful to their interests. Acts of terrorism can be carried out by individuals or groups. The most common image of terrorism is that it is carried out by small and secretive cells, highly motivated to serve a particular cause. Terrorists often seek to demoralize and paralyze their enemy with fear, using their acts as a form of blackmail to apply pressure on governments to achieve goals the terrorists could not achieve by other means.

(4)Recent developments have seen a divergence in social and political responses to terrorism between the United States and Western Europe. The September 11, 2001 attacks were carried out by foreigners who entered the country for that purpose, on behalf of a foreign organization, operating from bases in a remote country. Western European countries, on the other hand, are now confronted with a domestic terrorism based within a domestic religious minority, some recent immigrants, but many nativeborn citizens.

97

1.Определите, какое утверждение не соответствует содержанию текста.

A A terrorist act is generally unlawful and politically motivated. B The direct targets of terrorists may not be the main targets.

C Terror is a method employed by regimes to control their own populations through fear.

D Terror is technique of association in totalitarian regimes.

2.Ответьте на вопрос.

What are the responses to terrorism in America and Europe?

3.Укажите, в какой части текста (1, 2, 3, 4) содержится ответ на вопрос.

What are the objectives of terrorists?

4.Укажите, какой части текста (1, 2, 3, 4) соответствует следующая идея.

Terrorists are highly motivated to serve a particular cause.

5.Определите, является ли утверждение: «Modern instances of terror include red terror or white terror.» ложным / в тексте нет информа-

ции/истинным.

6.Составьте второе предложение с предложенным словом таким образом, чтобы оно имело тот же смысл, что и первое предложение.

1.A. Schmid defined an act of terrorism as «the peacetime equivalent of a war crime».

by

An act of terrorism …………………………as «the peacetime equivalent of a war crime».

2.Terrorists often seek to demoralize and frighten their enemy.

and

……………………………………………….arethemeansofterrorists. 3. Western European countries are now confronted with a domestic

terrorism. against

Western European countries ……………………………….. a domestic terrorism.

98

7. Какая из предложенных ниже моделей больше подходит для описания следующей мысли: Recent developments have seen a divergence in social and political responses to terrorism between the United States and Western Europe.

АThe author voices the protest against … B The author gives figures illustrating …

C The author provides much information on… D The author gives a detailed account of …

8.Какое из данных ниже предложений можно описать с помощью следующей модели аннотирования: I (quite) agree with the author on the point that…

АThe most common image of terrorism is that it is carried out by small and secretive cells, highly motivated to serve a particular cause.

B Definitions of «terrorism» generally involve some or all of the following…

C Western European countries are now confronted with a domestic terrorism based within a domestic religious minority, some recent immigrants, but many native-born citizens.

D A terrorist act is generally unlawful.

Text 41. UFO

(1)A UFO is an Unidentified Flying Object (неопознанный летающий объект) which has been identified as a possible or actual alien spacecraft. Such objects include meteors, disintegrating satellites, flocks of birds, aircraft, lights, weather balloons, and just about anything moving within the visible band of electromagnetism.

There are as many photographs of UFOs and they are of equal quality: blurs and forgeries. Other physical evidence, such as alleged debris from alien crashes, or burn marks on the ground from alien landings, or implants in bodies of alien abductees, have turned out to be quite terrestrial, including forgeries. The main reasons for believing in UFOs are the testimony of many people, the inability to distinguish science fiction from science, the willingness to trust men telling fantastic stories, the ability to distrust all contrary sources as being part of a conspiracy to withhold the truth, and a desire for contact with the world above. Belief in aliens in UFOs is akin to belief in supernatural beings.

(2)UFOlogy is the mythology of the space age. Rather than an-

99

gels... we now have... extraterrestrials (инопланетяне). It seeks to give man deeper roots and bearings in the universe. It is an expression of our hunger for mystery... our hope for transcendental meaning. The ancient gods have been transformed into space voyagers.

It seems reasonable to believe that the only reason we cannot explain these sightings by conventional means is because we do not have all the evidence – not because these sightings are probably due to alien visitations. If we had all the evidence, we would probably be able to explain the sightings by some conventional means.

(3) It is assumed by UFOlogists that the government, especially the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency – Центральное разведывательное управление, ЦРУ), is lying and covering up alien landings and communication. However, there is no evidence for this other than a general distrust of the government and the fact that many government officials have lied, distorted the truth and been mistaken when reporting to the general public.

Most unidentified flying objects are eventually identified as hoaxes (обман, ложная тревога, "утка") or astronomical events, aircraft, satellites, weather balloons, or other natural phenomena. In studies done by the Air Force, less than 2 % of UFO sightings remain unidentifiable. It is more probable that with more information those 2 % would be identified as meteors, aircraft, etc., than that they are alien spacecraft.

1.Продолжите предложение: According to the passage, UFOlogy is… A an Unidentified Flying Object.

B science fiction.

C the mythology of the space age. D Central Intelligence Agency.

2.Ответьте на вопрос.

Why do people believe in UFOs?

3.Укажите, какой части текста (1, 2, 3) соответствует следующая идея.

There is no scientific evidence that UFOs exist.

4.Определите основную идею текста.

A The main reasons for believing in UFOs are the testimony of

100