Иностранный язык (английский язык). Перевод и разговорная речь. Учебное пособие

Territory, the temperature is above zero all year round, even in winter. Summer is really hot there. In some locations the climate is subtropical. The climate of Siberia is continental: summers are hot and dry and winters are cold and windy. There are a lot of mountains and many rivers in Russia, the longest ones are Volga in Europe and Yenisei and Ob in Asia. The deepest lakes are Baikal and Ladoga.

Russian Federation is very rich in mineral resources such as oil, natural gas, coal, iron ore, gold and diamonds.

Moscow is the capital of our country. It was founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruky. It is a busy commercial and industrial Megalopolis and a nice city at the same time. There are a lot of art galleries, theatres, museums and monuments in Moscow. The most famous historical place is Moscow Kremlin, where there is the President resides and works. People of Russia take proud of the Kremlin. There are also a great number of beautiful cities in Russia.

The State symbol of Russia is a three-coloured banner with three horizontal stripes: white, blue and red. The white stripe symbolizes the earth, the blue one-the sky, and the red one symbolizes liberty. A new National Emblem is a two-headed eagle, which is the most ancient symbol of Russia.

Topic 11

Countries. The United Kingdom of Great Britain

and Northern Ireland (The UK)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated at the north-west coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean in the north-west and the North Sea in the east.

It consists of four parts so far: England with the capital in London, Scotland with the capital in Edinburgh, Wales with the capital in Cardiff and Northern Ireland with the capital in Belfast.

The United Kingdom has an area of 244,000 square kilometres (94,249 square miles). The capital of the country is London. English is the official language.

The UK is economically very well developed country, one of the leading European states. It has very long history, being for a very long time the metropolis of the British Empire, the biggest empire in the history of the humanity. Now some of the former colonies have established the Commonwealth of Nations.

The population of the U. K. is nearly 64 million people. The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs: four out of every five people live in towns. The majority of population is made by Christians belonging to

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the Church of England. The head of the church is the Queen; the primate is Archbishop of Canterbury.

The U. K. is a parliamentary monarchy. The official head of the state is a king or a queen, who does not rule. Queen Elizabeth II has been the head of the state since 1952. She is the longest ruling monarch in the history of the world. Her official title is Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and Head of the Commonwealth. She has a big family, which is in the focus of constant attention of the world. The heir to the throne is her eldest son, Prince Charles, whose official title is Prince of Wales.

The British Parliament consists of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords includes two different types of members: the Lords Spiritual, consisting of the most senior bishops of the Church of England, and the Lords Temporal, consisting of members of the peerage and life peers who are appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister. The House of Commons is a democratically elected chamber with elections held at least every five years The Prime Minister is the head of the government and the real head of the state.

The climate of Great Britain is mild and damp. It is not too hot in summer or too cold in winter. It often rains in England. Rain falls in summer and in winter, in autumn and in spring. Snow falls only in the north and west of the country. The UK is famous for its beautiful countryside. The surface of England and Ireland is flat, but Scotland and Wales are mountainous. The highest mountain is Ben Nevis, which is 1343 metres high.

There are many rivers in Great Britain. The main river is the Thames. The longest river is Severn. It is 350 kilometres long. The biggest ports are seaports – Liverpool, Southampton, Dover and some others.

There are many universities, colleges, libraries, museums and theatres in the country. The most famous universities are Cambridge and Oxford.

Topic 12

Higher education system in Russia and abroad

There are three basic kinds of higher education institutions in Russia. These are Universities, Academies and Institutes. Universities offer a wide spectrum of programs on all levels of education. Academies provide higher education at all levels and conduct a large amount of research – usually specialized in one branch such as science, art or architecture. Institutes are independent parts of universities or academies offering professional education programs.

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Russia has more university graduates than any other country in Europe. This is largely due to the government financing all education and higher education including living expenses during the Soviet era. There are some 519 institutions of higher education and 48 universities in Russia. Russia has historically placed much emphasis on science and technology in educations, and most of the government run institutions are specialized within this area. This is also where Russian higher education has its best reputation. To complement these traditional Russian institutions, many private institutions of higher educations have been emerging, often providing education in those areas not traditionally in focus such as economics, business and law.

One academic year lasts for 10 months (September 1st — June 30th). The academic year is arranged in two semesters: At the end of each semester, in January and in June, students take their term exams in the subjects they have studied, in accordance with the curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

Higher education in Russia normally lasts between four to six years. The first four years of full time university study leads to a Bachelor degree. The completion of the course requires a research project and passing the state final exams. The Bachelor degree is awarded in all fields except medicine, where the first stage lasts for six years.

Once students have obtained their Bachelor degree, they are eligible for entry into a Specialist Diploma and Master’s degree program. In Russia, this does not count as postgraduate education, as is the case in most other countries. The master degree is awarded after two years of study whereof one is a year of research including practice, preparation and defending of a thesis. In addition you must also sit the final exams.

Both Bachelor and Master degrees are relatively new. They did not exist in the Soviet system, and were introduced to conform the Russian system toward a more international standard in accordance with the Bologna Process. This change will hopefully mean a greater recognition and acceptance of Russian degrees abroad, which has been a problem for international students in the past and has kept the numbers of international students down.

A Master’s degree qualifies the student to enter postgraduate education. Postgraduate education is obtained at a university or scientific institute and is split in two parts. The first level usually results in a Kandidat nauk degree, which is a Candidate of Sciences. This first level is roughly equivalent to a Ph.D. in the United States.

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Topic 13

Students’ Life in Russia and abroad

Students are the future of every country. They are young citizens of our society, full of infinite energy and progressive ideas, fantastic plans and noble ambitions, hopes and dreams. Student life is the brightest period of our life. It is a mixture of studies and great fun. I know that my parents (ex-students) miss those old good days of their student life.

A student has certain duties to perform. It goes without saying that the primary student duty is studying hard and acquiring proper knowledge for the future career. He must attend all the classes at college, do all the work at the right time, be punctual and disciplined. It can help the student achieve his goals and become diligent and perseverant. If he does not neglect his studies, he will receive rich dividends in his future work.

Examination time at the end of each semester is quite tough for students. They spend endless days and nights on studying and cramming. Although some of them use cheating, copying someone’s essays or course works. In addition, you are lucky if you are not caught by the teacher because he can punish you by a poor mark or even by excluding from the college.

Most of the student’s time is devoted to reading and learning. It is unbelievable but some students manage to deal with part-time jobs because they need a lot of money to study at college or university. Tuition fees and books are very costly nowadays, and if you rent an apartment, it is even more expensive. So students have busy schedules including studies, work and going out to socialize.

A good student never wastes his spare time uselessly. He should also go in for sports to stay in good health and mood. They say, “A sound mind lives in a sound body.” Students love participating in both academic and extra-curricular activities at college: different festivals, intellectual quizzes and summer camps. This social life broadens the mind, develops your talents and communication skills. Moreover, this is a wonderful time when you find real friends among your classmates at college. Finally, I’d like to say that it is absolutely great to be a student!

Topic 14

Our Higher School of Print and Media Technologies

I study at the Higher School of Printing Arts and Media Technologies, which is a branch of St. Petersburg University of Industrial Technologies and Design. I am a second year student of the Printing Technologies Institute. I

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major in the IT. I am going to be a software engineer. This speciality requires good knowledge of different subjects, first of all, mathematics. So we have a profound course of Mathematics including Mathematical Analysis, Higher Mathematics, Probability Theory. Our term paper now is devoted to solving a complicated mathematic task.

Nevertheless, a specialist with higher education must be a well-educated person with the wide world outlook. Therefore, our curriculum includes also a course in Russian History and a course of the History of St. Petersburg. In addition, of course we have PE lessons, which help us to be physically fit.

We study six days a week having three or four classes a day: lectures, seminars, workshops. We start at 8.30 am and study till 2 or 4 pm. Fortunately, we have a big lunch break of 45 minutes, so we can relax and socialize over the meal. Each term we have to pass several exams, from three to six, and several tests. Therefore, our examination period, that is January and June, is very difficult. Then we have time to relax – we have two weeks’ holidays in February and two months’ holidays in July and August.

Our group is rather friendly; we help each other and sometimes spend our free time together. It is interesting for me to study in my Institute and I hope I will graduate it in three years as a highly qualified specialist. I am planning to continue my education at the Master’s level in the future.

Topic 15

Books and publishing. A book or film review

Books play an important role in our life. They say that books are our best companions. Books are our friends in a real sense. They demand nothing from us. They give us plenty of joy. We also learn a lot from them. They take us into a different world of imagination.

Books encourage us when we are defeated. They inspire us to work hard with hope and courage. They remove our ignorance and add to our knowledge. Books enrich our experience and sharpen our intellect. Thus, a good book is our true friend.

Books are of different kinds. Some books deal with topics of general nature. Everybody likes to read those books. There are also some books on certain topics. Such books are written for a particular set of readers. A general reader likes to read books of general nature. They give us knowledge and pleasure.

We should be very careful while we select books. Good books develop in us many qualities. A man of wide reading is a man of culture.

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As for me I cannot say I read much. Nevertheless, I definitely love reading. One of my favourite books is collection of stories about Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr Watson. I like these stories because they show mental work of a genius detective who wants not only to investigate the criminal case but also to offer a new, fairer sense of justice. That is why my favourite story is called “Blue Carbuncle.

A “Blue Carbuncle” is stolen from a hotel suite, and a former felon is soon arrested. However, an acquaintance of Holmes discovers the carbuncle in the throat of a Christmas goose. Holmes traces the owner of the goose, but soon determines that he was not the thief by offering him a replacement goose. The detective continues his search, first to an inn and then a dealer in Covent Garden. The dealer refuses to provide Holmes with information about the source of the goose, but Holmes observes another man trying to find the same information, and confronts him. The man, the head attendant at the hotel, confesses to his crime. Holmes allows him to remain free, arguing that prison could make him a hardened criminal later.

Topic 16

Art in our life

Our life is not full with arts. Arts provides us food for thought and emotions, gives us a source of imagination and good escape from reality.

As we live in St. Petersburg, we have plenty of opportunities to watch a good play, to listen music of any kind, to attend an exhibition.

The most famous museum in our city is the State Hermitage, the second richest museum in the world. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise over three million items including the largest collection of paintings in the world. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors. My favourite part is the collection of paintings by Rembrandt. I am fascinated by his works and can see them over and over.

And of course, I love music. My favourite style of music is pop music, because it is breathtaking and full of energy. When I listen to pop music it makes me remember happy times and forget the problems of everyday life. It helps me to relax when I am tired, and entertains me when I’d like to have fun. My favourite group is Abba. It was formed in 1973 in Sweden. Abba’s cheerful tunes made them international pop stars and one of the most successful groups of the seventies. Their most famous songs (“Waterloo”, “Money, Money, Money”,

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“Knowing Me, Knowing You”, etc.) often topped European charts. Though the group does not exist anymore, it is still popular with people of all ages. I cannot but admire their style of singing. I find it fascinating and overwhelming. When I have free time I listen to their records. I also like having background music while I am working.

I do not mind listening to dance music, especially when I go to disco clubs. This style of music is catchy and I like catchy tunes. It makes me more energetic.

It is a pity that many young people like to listen only to modern music. As for me, I also enjoy listening to classical music. I find it tuneful and appealing. Classical music is always a complex of emotions. It gives me delight, pleasure and a sense of happiness. Some pieces of classical music are really wonderful. Not long ago I listened to the First Piano Concerto, composed by Tchaikovsky. The power of his music captivated me. The impression was overwhelming.

Topic 17

Mass media. Types of media technologies

There are four main types of modern media technologies: audible, visible, print and social.

Newspapers and magazines – print mediaplay a very important part in our life. Practically there is no family that does not read them. There are a lot of different kinds of newspapers in our country. One can buy them practically everywhere. It is impossible to read all the newspapers and magazines. Everyone has favourite ones. My favourite newspaper is _________. We can read almost about everything in this newspaper. There are articles dealing with home and abroad news, sport events, life of favourite actors and singers and even the weather. We can find many interesting things there. We can read some useful pieces of advice, some stories about our life, and so on. There are puzzles, songs and even anecdotes there. “_____” is one of the most interesting newspapers, to my mind.

As for magazines, they are still very popular. As for me, I regularly read “_____”. I also listen to some radio channels. Radio is very convenient when on road. You can listen to music and find out some local news.

One the most popular visible means of mass media is the TV. TV programs give you not only entertainment, some of them are very helpful.

Radio is the most popular means of audible mass media. It has retained its importance for people of older generation but young people still enjoy it as a source of new music and fun.

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The Internet is a more useful tool to get necessary information. When I need some information for my studies, for example, I go to the Internet and google or yandex the necessary thing.

Social media is the newest type of mass media. It includes various networks like Facebook, VKontakte or Instagram which are extremely popular among young people.

Topic 18

Language as a means of intercultural cooperation. Political correctness

Our century is definitely the time of globalization. It makes cross-cultural contacts even more important.

Language is the main means of communication and that is why its role nowadays is not less important. It is a well-known fact that English has become the language of international communication and every person who wants to succeed in modern life should master it

Among the most often cited barriers to conflict-free cross-cultural communication is the use of different languages. It is difficult to underestimate the importance that an understanding of linguistic differences plays in international business communication. Given this reality, business consultants counsel clients to take the necessary steps to enlist the services of a good translator. Language failures between cultures typically fall into three categories: 1) gross translation problems; 2) subtle distinctions from language to language; and 3) culturally-based variations among speakers of the same language.

Another problem is usage of the system of political correctness which is extremely important for people belonging to American culture.

Political correctness (or PC for short) means using words or behaviour which will not offend any group of people. Most people think it is important for everyone to be treated equally, fairly and with dignity. Some words that are unkind to some people have been used for a long time. Some of these words have now been replaced by other words that are not offensive. These new words are described as politically correct.

For example, it has much to deal with gender issues. Throughout the 20th century women fought to have the same rights as men. In politically correct language this is seen in changes to job titles such as “sportsman”, “postman”, and “chairman” which now commonly go by the gender-neutral titles “athlete”, “letter carrier” and “chairperson” or “chair” as well as with terms having broader application, such as “humankind” replacing “mankind”. People who are blind or deaf may be referred to as “vision impaired” and

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“hearing impaired”. People who cannot speak are never “dumb” but “mute” or “without speech”.

To put it in short, if we want to maintain good relationship with other nations, we should respect their feelings and their traditions.

Topic 19

Cultural shock. Cross-cultural issues in international communication

The term, culture shock, was introduced for the first time in 1958 to describe the anxiety produced when a person moves to a completely new environment. This term expresses the feeling of not knowing what to do or how to do things in a new environment, and not knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate. We can describe culture shock as the physical and emotional discomfort one suffers when coming to live in another country or a place different from the place of origin. It is an anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. Often, the way that we lived before is not accepted as or considered as normal in the new place.

Everything is different, and for example, we don’t speak the language, don’t know when to shake hands and what to say when we meet people, when and how to give tips, when to accept and when to refuse invitations, when to take statements seriously and when not.

Like most ailments, culture shock has its symptoms and cure. The symptoms of cultural shock can appear at different times.

Symptoms:

• Sadness, loneliness, melancholy

• Preoccupation with health: aches, pains, and allergies • Insomnia, desire to sleep too much or too little • Anger, irritability, unwillingness to interact with others • Lack of confidence

• Longing for family

• A desire to depend on long-term residents of one’s own nationality

Stages

Culture shock has several stages. The first stage is the incubation stage. During the first few weeks most individuals are fascinated by the new. This time is called the “honeymoon” stage, as everything encountered is new and exciting. This stage may last from a few days or weeks to six months, depending on the circumstances.

Afterwards, the second stage presents itself. It is characterized by a hostile and aggressive attitude towards the host country. This happens due to the

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difficulties a person faces in daily life, such as communication or transportation problems. In this stage one criticizes the host country, its ways and the people.

The third stage is characterized by gaining some understanding of the new culture. A new feeling of pleasure may be experienced and sense of humor begins to exert itself. Instead of criticizing, they now jokes about people around them and even crack jokes about their own difficulties. They are now on the way to recovery.

In the fourth stage, the adjustment is complete. The visitor now accepts the customs of the country as just another way of living. They realize that the new culture has good and bad things to offer. The feeling of anxiety is lost.

Some ways to combat stress produced by culture shock:

-Learn the language of the host country

-Develop a hobby

-Be positive

-Don’t forget the good things you already have!

First, I would recommend the person finding a hobby. Doing some interesting thing could really distract one from the irritation, negative emotions and depressive feeling.

Second, in such a situation what would really help is thinking positively. One should at least try to notice the good things around them and to enjoy their life. Very often we are in the foreign country not for good and not even for a long time. Therefore, there’s too little time to be upset and frustrated, you have to cherish every moment and appreciate the opportunities that life gives you.

It is also very useful to try to get as much knowledge of the language as one could from the very beginning. When you are fluent in the language of the host country it’s a lot easier to get around by yourself, to communicate with people, to share your feelings and impressions with them and be understood.

Dealing with Culture Shock

You have stepped off the plane into a new cultural world. Initially you may experience a sense of overwhelming fascination and awe. Everything around you is new: a different language, different dress, or a confusing transit system. Slowly you begin to adapt. You begin to notice certain cultural nuances. This process takes time.

Culture is “an integrated system of learned behavior patterns (образцы поведения) that are characteristic of the members of any given society. Culture refers to the total way of life of particular groups of people. It includes everything that a group of people thinks, says, does and makes - its systems

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