Access to the World of Business and Professional Communication. Study Guide for Blended Learning. Step I (Modules I and II). Учебное пособие-1

Раздел 3. Чтение / Section 3. Reading

–знать характерные для аннотации и рефератов типичные фразы;

–уметь определять информационную ценность и актуальность текстов по профильной тематике;

–уметь четко определять тему, основную идею и логико-смысло- вую структуру текста;

–уметь быстро находить в тексте основную информацию и осуществлять смысловую компрессию текста;

–уметь четко сформулировать и обосновать свое отношение

кпредмету речи;

–владеть навыками ознакомительного, поискового и изучающего чтения и письма;

–владеть навыками логико-смысловой обработки текстов и составления аннотаций и рефератов;

–владеть навыками компрессии текстовой информации;

–уметь оформлять аннотации (summary) и строить устный реферативный пересказ текста.

Цель: Формирование навыков ознакомительного, поискового

иизучающего чтения текстов повседневно-бытовой и страноведческой направленности, логико-смысловой обработки текстов, письма

исоставления аннотаций и рефератов.

Навык 1. Навык ознакомительного, поискового и изучающего чтения текстов повседневно-бытовой и страноведческой направленности, предполагающий разные уровни понимания: понимание основной идеи текста, понимание логической структуры и связности текста, полное, точное, детальное понимание прочитанного.

Навык 2. Навык логико-смысловой обработки текста, включающей его содержание, структуру, а также его речевое и языковое оформление.

Навык 3. Навык письма и составления связного структурированного информационно насыщенного письменного высказывания повсед- невно-бытовой, общенаучной и деловой направленности.

Навык 4. Навык осуществления смысловой компрессии текста различной степени и составления реферата и аннотации прочитанного текста / текстов.

Тематика:

Человек и его повседневная деятельность:

–личность и межличностные отношения;

–семейная жизнь;

–образование и учебная деятельность;

–трудовая деятельность.

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МОДУЛЬ I. ОБЩЕЯЗЫКОВОЙ КУРС / MODULE I. GENERAL ENGLISH

Topic 1. People and their day-to-day activities

1.Personality

1.1.Read the text divided into paragraphs (1–7) and choose the best title (A–G) for each paragraph. Use each letter only once.

What is personal success?

1.What is meant by success? We tend to think of success as something unusual, something that requires special talents to achieve. That’s because stories in the media about successful business executives, professional golfers, and powerful politicians lead us to believe that only a few special people are successful. We may not hear about them, but ordinary people can be successful, too. Success is about reaching for something — and getting it. It is about having something you didn’t have before. It is about attaining something that I valued by others.

2.Success begins with a clear goal, and attaining that goal requires ambition. Ambition is the energy that drives people to work hard, to learn more, and to seek opportunities to advance themselves. Some people have a clear goal, but they lack the ambition to make their dream come true. Other people have great ambition but no clear goal to work toward. They start one scheme after another but never seem to find success.

3.All children begin life with great ambition. Consider the ambition that babies demonstrate as they try to sit up, crawl, and walk. Despite repeated failures, they keep trying until they succeed. It is persistence that makes them keep trying. This is the ability to focus on a task despite interruptions, obstacles, and setbacks. Persistence is strong throughout childhood. During the teen years, however, a fear of failure or a fear of being laughed at by others for trying to ‘be somebody’ may inhibit, or stop, their persistence. As a result, many teens seem to just quit trying.

4.If parents are aware that a lack of ambition is common in teenagers, they may be able to minimize it by providing positive learning experiences in the early years. For example, parents can encourage their young children

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Раздел 3. Чтение / Section 3. Reading

to take on challenges, praise them for trying, and comfort them if they fail. One of the strongest influences on a person’s ambition is the family. It is not a coincidence that successful parents tend to raise successful children, which is due to heredity and upbringing. Evidence suggests that both play a role in determining ambition.

5.The economic status of a family also influences a person’s level of ambition. Young adults who grew up in poor families may be more focused on meeting the needs of today rather than reaching for the dreams of tomorrow. Or they may have great ambition but lack the means to reach their goals. In contrast, ambition may be unnecessary for those who grew up in high families because, at least financially, they are already successful. Not surprisingly, ambition seems to coincide most often with middle-class status. Although financially secure, middle-class families may not feel socially secure. This status anxiety fuels the ambition needed to reach for success.

6.Despite their backgrounds, it is people with dynamic personalities who are most likely to succeed. These are people who don’t wait for things to happen; these are people who take effective action to make things happen. With their eyes on the future, their goals dominate the choices they make. They learn the skills they will need through education or training. They exploit, that is, take advantage of, opportunities to broaden their knowledge through experience and observation. They seek assistance from anyone who might further develop their chances to succeed, including family members, friends, coaches, and colleagues.

7.And finally, success will come for these dynamic people. For each person it will be different, though, because individuals generate their own definitions of success. So he or she will get the job, win the race, earn the diploma, start the business, or climb the mountain — and the goal will be a reality.

1.2. Mark sentences as T (True) or F (False) according to the information in the text.

1.Stories generated by the media demonstrate that ordinary people can be successful.

2.Ambition is necessary to achieve a goal.

3.The teen years often coincide with a fear of failure and a lack of ambition.

4.Family does not have any impact on ambition.

5.Ambition is closely related to middle-class status.

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МОДУЛЬ I. ОБЩЕЯЗЫКОВОЙ КУРС / MODULE I. GENERAL ENGLISH

6.Dynamic people have more chances to become successful.

7.The concept of success is always individual.

1.3.In each paragraph the words given in bold type convey its main idea. The key words in the first paragraph have been underlined for you as an example.

What is success? We tend to think of success as something unusual, something that requires special talents to achieve. That’s because stories in the media about successful business executives, professional golfers, and powerful politicians lead us to believe that only a few special people are successful. We may not hear about them, but ordinary people can be successful, too. Success is about reaching for something — and getting it. It is about having something you didn’t have before. It is about attaining something that I valued by others.

1.4.For each paragraph make up a sentence which gives its main idea. See an example for the first paragraph.

We tend to think of success as something that requires special talents to achieve.

1.5.Make up two sentences to convey the idea of each paragraph and extend the information. See an example for the first paragraph.

We tend to think of success as something that requires special talents to achieve, because stories about successful business executives and other people lead us to believe that only few people are successful.

1.6.Make up three sentences to convey the idea of each paragraph and extend the information. See an example for the first paragraph.

We tend to think of success as something that requires special talents to achieve, because stories about successful business executives and other people lead us to believe that only few people are successful. Success is about attaining and reaching for something and getting it.

1.7.Make up a summary of the text and give a more detailed retelling of the text.

2.Family life

2.1.Read the text divided into paragraphs (1–7) and choose the best title (A–G) for each paragraph. Use each letter only once.

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Family life and traditions in Britain

1.Family identity in Britain, especially in England, is not as strong as in other parts of the world. But as in most other countries, the family unit is still the basic arrangement for the people. The so-called nuclear family commonly consists of mother, father and two children. There is little sense in extended family identity, and it is unusual for adults of different generations to live together. Each generation is eager to be independent of parents in establishing a family unit.

2.The average number of people living in one household in Britain is lower than in other European countries, whereas the proportion of elderly people living alone is rather high. A lot of old people live alone following the death of their partners. As a result, there are many households which consist of only one person or one person and children.

3.Members of an extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) try to keep in touch, although they do not see each other very often. This is because people move away from their home town to work, and as a result the family becomes scattered. Christmas is the traditional season for reunions when relatives travel many miles in order to spend the holiday together.

4.In Britain, family gatherings beyond the family unit are comparatively rare. Weddings, births and funerals are not accompanied by large gatherings of people. Although it is still common to appoint people to certain roles on such occasions, such as godmother or godfather when a child is born, they rather have sentimental significance for most people and are not regarded as obligatory actions.

5.In recent years, there have been significant changes in family life. Some of them are the result of the law that made it easier to get a divorce. For this very reason, the number of divorces has increased, and the proportion of children born outside marriage has risen dramatically. This means that there are a lot of one-parent families. Society is now more tolerant than it used to be of unmarried people, unmarried couples and single parents. However, these trends do not mean that nuclear family is disappearing.

6.Certain changes have taken place in the relationships between children and their parents. Parents treat their children more as equals than

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МОДУЛЬ I. ОБЩЕЯЗЫКОВОЙ КУРС / MODULE I. GENERAL ENGLISH

they used to, and children have more freedom to make their own decisions. Besides, fathers are more involved in bringing up children, whereas mothers often go out to work. There are greater opportunities for children to take part in activities outside the home. Many of them spend holidays away from their parents, often with school parties and other organised groups.

7. Respect for privacy underlies family traditions as well as other spheres of life. It is the privacy in one’s own home, and the right not to make information about oneself and one’s family public. A good example is that there is a strong tendency to avoid personal, financial and family related questions.

2.2. Read the text again. For each question (1–7), mark one letter (А, В or С) to choose the correct answer.

(1) A family unit is

А. still the basic arrangement in society. В. only understood as a nuclear family. С. given up whatsoever.

(2)The number of people which make up the household in Britain and in Europe is

А. the same.

В. much higher.

С. somewhat lower.

(3)The tradition of family celebrations

А. has already disappeared. В. still exists.

С. has never been characteristic of British society.

(4)Family gatherings in Britain А. resemble those in Russia.

В. are not very popular. С. are quite common.

(5)Single-parent families

А. constitute the majority of family units. В. are treated with tolerance.

С. are extremely rare.

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Раздел 3. Чтение / Section 3. Reading

(6)The upbringing of children is А. the responsibility of all mothers.

В. the area fathers are not involved in.

С. more and more associated with fathers.

(7)Keeping information about family life private is А. quite common for the British culture.

В. somewhat out-of-date. С. always violated.

2.3.In each paragraph of the text mark the key words which convey its main idea with bold type. The key words in the first paragraph have been underlined for you as an example.

Family identity in Britain, especially in England, is not as strong as in other parts of the world. But as in most other countries, the family unit is still the basic arrangement for the people. The so-called nuclear family commonly consists of mother, father and two children. There is little sense in extended family identity, and it is unusual for adults of different generations to live together. Each generation is eager to be independent of parents in establishing a family unit.

2.4.For each paragraph make up a sentence which gives its main idea. See an example for the first paragraph.

The family unit is the basic arrangement for the British and the so-called nuclear family most often consists of mother, father and two children.

2.5.Make up two sentences to convey the idea of each paragraph and extend the information. See an example for the first paragraph.

The family unit is the basic arrangement for the British. The so-called nuclear family most often consists of mother, father and two children.

2.6.Make up three sentences to convey the idea of each paragraph and extend the information. See an example for the first paragraph.

The family unit is the basic arrangement for the British. The so-called nuclear family most often consists of mother, father and two children. It is unusual for adults of different generations to live together.

2.7.Make up a summary of the text and give a more detailed retelling of the text.

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МОДУЛЬ I. ОБЩЕЯЗЫКОВОЙ КУРС / MODULE I. GENERAL ENGLISH

3.Education

3.1.Read the text divided into paragraphs (1–7) and choose the best title (A–G) for each paragraph. Use each letter only once.

Higher education in Britain

1.The independence of Britain’s educational system is most noticeable in universities. These institutions make their own choice of students and select them on the basis of A-level results and an interview. But even a student with top grades in several A-levels is not guaranteed a place. Conversely, a student with no A-levels can be accepted by a university according to the results of the interview.

2.Although the availability of higher education has increased recently, finding a university place is a rather complicated task. The main reason is that universities select the best students. The course of studies usually lasts three years or more. In Scotland, four years is the norm for most subjects.

3.Full-time education normally means that students are not supposed to take a job during these three or four years. Students receive a state grant of money which covers most of their living expenses. They mainly include the cost of accommodation. Most students live on campus or rent a room nearby in order to be surrounded by university atmosphere.

4.The expansion of higher education turns out to be rather expensive for the state. That is why the government tends to reduce the amount of the student grant and to encourage the system of loans instead. But more and more students cannot afford to live away from home as a result and are forced to ‘moonlight’, i.e. do a part-time job secretly. This trend threatens to reduce the quality of higher education in Britain. Another threat is reducing the availability of university education to students from low-income families.

5.British universities fall into several distinct categories, though this division is not official. The first group is often referred to as Oxbridge, i.e. Oxford and Cambridge. They are made up of a federation of colleges, each having its own staff and facilities, which include the library, chapel, dining-

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Раздел 3. Чтение / Section 3. Reading

hall, and accommodation. The staff teach college students in small groups (known as tutorials in Oxford and supervisions in Cambridge) or even one- to-one. Before 1970 all Oxbridge colleges were single-sex only. Today, they primarily admit both sexes.

6.The so-called ‘redbrick’ universities appeared in the 19th century. They were mainly technically-biased and sprang up in industrial cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds. Their buildings were often made of red brick, which gave rise to the name. At first, these educational institutions prepared local students for London University degrees. Later, they became independent and were given the right to award their own degrees.

7.Campus universities are located in the countryside but close to towns. They date back to the 1960s and became popular very soon because they offer accommodation for all the students on site. These universities share a new approach to students’ life and education. They emphasize comparatively new academic disciplines such as social sciences. Besides, they rely more than other universities on teaching in small groups sometimes referred to as ‘seminars’.

3.2. Read the text again. For each question (1–7), mark one letter (А, В or С) to choose the correct answer.

(1)University admission requires А. passing an interview.

В. having A-level results in several subjects.

С. having A-level results in several subjects and passing an interview.

(2)The course of studies is

А. the same in all the universities of the UK. В. longer in Scotland.

С. shorter in Scotland.

(3)The state grant of money А. covers all possible expenses.

В. covers mainly the accommodation expenses. С. does not support the students whatsoever.

(4)Part-time job

А. has a negative impact on education. В. seldom helps the students.

С. is only for the students from low-income families.

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МОДУЛЬ I. ОБЩЕЯЗЫКОВОЙ КУРС / MODULE I. GENERAL ENGLISH

(5) Oxford and Cambridge

А. are based on entirely different educational principals. В. are based on similar educational principals.

С. have very educational facilities.

(6) ‘Redbrick’ universities

А. have always been independent. В. have never been independent.

С. are independent institutions now.

(7) Teaching in small groups is

А. the basic principal of all British universities. В. the basic principal of campus universities.

С. not considered as an educational principal whatsoever.

3.3. Read the text again and analyse each paragraph. Find its key idea and write out the key words which convey the main idea. Fill in the table below. The first paragraph has been analysed for you as an example.

3.4.Make up a summary of the text using the key ideas given in the first column.

3.5.Give a more detailed retelling of the text using the whole table.

4.Work

4.1.Read the article divided into paragraphs (1–7) and choose the best title (A–G) for each paragraph. Use each letter only once.

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