Кудинова Практическиы курс аглиыского языка для студентов международник Ч.1 2014

детского труда

91

Ex. 3. Translate into English using tag-questions, echo questions and the construction “so/neither + auxiliary verb + sb”:

1.Линда вернулась. – Да неужели? Наконец-то!

2.Вы не видели ее уже неделю, не так ли? – Да, и ее родители тоже.

3.Конференция будет в Пекине, разве нет?

4.Питер побывал в Перу. – Да что вы говорите? Как я ему завидую.

5.Давай встретимся пораньше, ок?

6.Я едва его знаю. – Разве? У меня другая информация.

7.Никто не против моего возвращения, или как?

8.Я ведь создатель этого робота, правильно? Значит, это я виноват в этом происшествии.

9.Ты мне вчера письмо какое-то странное прислал. – Неужели? И что в

нем странного?

10.Все в порядке, или нет?

11.У нас никогда не было телевизора на кухне. – Не может этого быть! 12.Потрясающе выглядишь! – Да? Ну тогда ты тоже.

13.Перезвони мне позже, хорошо?

14.Я ни с кем сегодня не виделся. – И твой сосед тоже. Кто-то из вас врет. 15.Ты вчера палец порезал, да? Ну так и Марк тоже. Вы что, вместе

пытались готовить?

16.Кира хотела бы поехать на море. – Да все хотели бы, но у нас сессия. 17.Приезжай вовремя, хорошо?

18.Ты раньше был забавнее. – Да что ты говоришь? Ты тоже!

Ex. 4. Translate into English using the active vocabulary:

1.К тому моменту, когда закончилась первая серия этого сериала, многие люди уже на него подсели.

2.Можно назвать человека, который испытывает зависимость от книг, книгоманом?

3.Интернет вызывает зависимость, не так ли?

92

4.Не пичкай котенка витаминами, это вредно.

5.Не забивай свою голову всякой ерундой.

6.Мы говорили о разных серьезных вещах, и тут пришла эта «ходячая проблема» Марк.

7.Из каких специалистов состоит твой штат сотрудников?

8.Ребенок запихнул игрушки в ящики комода и сказал: «Я убрался!».

9.Не брюзжи, пожалуйста!

10.Давай приготовим фаршированную индейку, как на день благодарения.

11.Мы подумываем ввести запрет на парковку на тротуарах.

12.В салон самолета запретили проносить больше 1 единицы ручной клади.

13.Создатель мира хоббитов и эльфов был профессором математики.

14.Ремонт дороги создал чудовищные круглосуточные пробки.

15.Даже не думай выкладывать это видео в Интернет, это несомненно создаст кучу проблем для нашей компании.

16.Не сомневайся в нем, он всегда выполняет то, что пообещал. – Разве?

17.Прошло два дня, а Пит все сомневался (2 варианта для «сомневался»), покупать ли акции компании своего друга. Его останавливало то, что

его двоюродная сестра купила предложенный ей пакет акций без каких-либо колебаний.

18.Эти факты выглядели весьма сомнительно, и мы их перепроверили.

19.Новейшая сельскохозяйственная техника отделяет зерна от шелухи прямо на поле, во время уборки урожая.

20.Планируйте свое время правильно, иначе вы не закончите работу к Рождеству.

21.Вот и нет у меня проблем – я отменил две встречи и теперь все успею.

22.Сложно сказать точно, что случится, когда на Земле закончится ископаемое топливо. Возможно, к тому моменту будет созданы возобновляемые экологически чистые источники энергии. Может быть, они уже созданы, но это скрывается нефтяными компаниями.

23.У нас не осталось непрочитанных книг.

24.Было 250 голосов в поддержку нового закона и только 20 против.

93

Unit Three. Education, Work, Extreme Situations

Reading and Speaking: Languages and Language Learning

1.Answer the questions using the list below.

1.Which language in the world is spoken by most people?

2.Which language has the largest

3.vocabulary?

4.Which is the oldest written language?

5.Which sub-continent has the largest number of languages?

6.Which language has no irregular verbs?

7.Which language has the most letters in its alphabet?

8.In which language is the largest encyclopaedia printed?

9.Is it... Spanish/Cambodian/ English/Egyptian/Esperanto/ Mandarin Chinese/Indian?

2. Look at the map and classify the countries according to the following groups:

•English spoken as a first language

•English spoken as a second language - it is used in schools and universities and as a lingua franca

•English spoken widely as a foreign language

94

3.In pairs: discuss if the following statements seem to be true or false:

1.English was already an important world language four hundred years ago.

2.It is mainly because of the United States that English has become a world language.

3.One person out of seven in the world speaks perfect English.

4.There are few inflections in modern English.

5.In English, many verbs can be used as nouns.

6.English has borrowed words from many other languages.

7.In the future, all other languages will probably die out.

4. Match the words and phrases to the correct translation:

5.Make sure you know the translation of these terms: singular, plural, tense, person, an inflection, noun, verb, adjective, preposition, a compound word, a derivative.

6.Now read and translate the text.

Answers to ex. «Languages and Language Learning: The Discussion Point» on the previous page:

1)Chinese, 2) English, 3) Egyptian, 4) Indian, 5) Esperanto, 6) Cambodian, 7) Spanish.

95

Today, when English is one of the major languages in the world, it requires an effort of the imagination to realize that this is a relatively recent thing - that in Shakespeare's time, for example, only a few million people spoke English, and the language was not thought to be very important by the other nations of Europe, and was unknown to the rest of the world.

English has become a world language because of its establishment as a mother tongue outside England, in all the continents of the world. This exporting of English began in the seventeenth century, with the first settlements in North America. Above all, it is the great growth of population in the United States, assisted by massive immigration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, that has given the English language its present standing in the world.

People who speak English fall into one of three groups: those who have learned it as their native language; those who have learned it as a second language in a society that is mainly bilingual; and those who are forced to use it for a practical purpose - administrative, professional or educational. One person in seven of the world's entire population belongs to one of these three groups. Incredibly enough, 75% of the world's mail and 60% of the world's telephone calls are in English.

BASIC CHARACTERISTICS:

SIMPLICITY OF FORM. Old English, like modern German, French, Russian and Greek, had many inflections to show singular

and plural, tense, person, etc., but over the centuries words have been simplified. Verbs now have very few inflections, and adjectives do not change according to the noun.

FLEXIBILITY. As a result of the loss of inflections, English has become, over the past five centuries, a very flexible language. Without inflections, the same word can operate as many different parts of speech. Many nouns and verbs have the same form, for example swim, drink, walk, lass, look, and smile. We can talk about water to drink and to water the flowers; time to go and to time a race; a paper to read and to paper a bedroom. Adjectives can be used as verbs. We warm our hands in front of a fire; if clothes are dirtied, they need to be cleaned and dried. Prepositions too are flexible. A sixty-year old man is nearing retirement; we can talk about a round of golf, cards, or drinks.

OPENNESS OF VOCABULARY. This involves the free admissions of words from other languages and the easy creation of compounds and derivatives. Most world languages have contributed some words to English at some time, and the process is now being reversed. Purists of the French, Russian, and Japanese languages are resisting the arrival of English in their vocabulary.

THE FUTURE OF ENGLISH. Geographically, English is the most widespread language on Earth, second only to Mandarin Chinese in the number of people who speak it. It is the language of business, technology, sport, and aviation. This will no doubt continue, although the proposition that all other languages will die out is absurd.

96

7. Find equivalents for these words in the texts: подразделяться на группы,

двуязычный (билингвальный), гибкий, вымирать, абсурдный.

8. Here are the answers to some questions. What are the questions?

2.Because it is the mother tongue of 6. Yes, it had a lot of inflections.

-a brochure for an English language school?

-a preface to a book on modern language teaching?

-a dictionary?

-an encyclopaedia?

2.The text says that it is because of the United States that English is a world language. Why?

3.Which of the three groups of English speakers do you belong to? What is your reason for learning?

4.What words are there in your language that have been borrowed from other languages?

Reading: British and American English

1. Read the text, and say which of these words are usually used by the British or by the Americans: gas/ mailman/ hood/ gear shift/ boot /filling station/ petrol/ postman/ accelerator/ sedan/ station wagon/ gas station.

British and American English

It has been said that the British and Americans are 'two peoples separated by a common language'. However, the differences between British and American English are comparatively small. Although British newspapers occasionally publish letters from irate elderly citizens complaining that they are unable to understand a word of the latest American TV series, it is clear that few people have serious problems, in fact people on both sides of the Atlantic might have much more difficulty in understanding the stronger regional dialects of their own country than in understanding an average speaker from the other country. Television, films, and pop music have helped to bridge the Atlantic and those minor difficulties which might occur in comprehension are probably much fewer than 40 or 50 years ago. It is quite normal to find four or five American programmes in an evening on British television, and to find that 6 or 7 of the American Top 20 LP records are by British artists. It is true that most Americans would say: 'Pardon me, do you have...?' while in Britain it would be more common to say: 'Excuse me, have you got...?' However, both forms would be understood in both countries. One of the most obvious areas of difference would relate to words connected with motoring, for example:

97

3.Why is it a 'difficult situation'?

4.What solution does Jean propose?

4 Martin, Carlos, Paul and Stewart are students sharing a flat for a year. Read about them and discuss what problems could arise because of their different personalities.

Martin (English), aged 21, is studying Engineering.

A strong personality, he is extrovert and sociable. He can often upset people because he usually speaks his mind. He likes to organise things, and plans his life carefully. A tidy person, he has already put up several notices reminding his flatmates to keep the flat clean.

Paul (American), aged 22, comes from a very wealthy family - both his parents are top lawyers in the United States. Encouraged by his parents, he also is studying Law. Ambitious and very hard-working, he spends most of the day and night reading law books and writing assignments. He likes to communicate by email and often sends messages to his flatmates.

Stewart (English), aged 20, is the youngest flatmate.

He is studying Modern Languages. Shy and lacking confidence, he is a typical introvert. He loves travelling, and spends his vacations going all over Asia, alone. He is continually saving money for these trips and eats little food. He does not like face- to-face communication or telephoning.

Carlos (Brazilian), aged 21, is studying Media.

Easy-going, confident, he is always happy and relaxed. He spends a lot of time late at night telephoning his family in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He loves talking and chatting to friends. An untidy person, his favourite pastime is playing Brazilian music as loudly as possible.

5. The four flatmates talk about how to organise their life in the flat. Listen and note down which rules Martin wants to introduce. What does Martin say about each rule? Do the others agree with him?

Before you listen make sure you know these words:

1.6: an issue, in larger quantities, to carry on doing sth, a load of sth, to put up notices about sth, to pay attention to sth, a dump, to exaggerate, a rota, to be fed

100