Easy English (начальный этап обучения). Учебно-методическое пособие для студентов младших курсов средних специальных учебных заведений

other countries, but they have just weather. If you don’t like the weather in

England, just wait a few minutes.

It rains very often in all seasons in Great Britain. Autumn and winter

are the wettest. The sky is usually grey and cold winds blow. On the

average, Britain has more than 200 rainy days a year. The English say that

they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it

rains in the afternoon, and when it rains all day long.

Britain is known all over the world for its fogs. Sometimes fogs are

so thick that it’s impossible to see anything within a few meters. The

winter fogs of London are, indeed, awful; they surpass all imagination. In

a dense fog all traffic is stopped, no vehicle can move from fear of

dreadful accidents.

So, we may say that the British climate has three main features: it is

mild, humid and very changeable.

Vocabulary

The British Isles – Британские острова

To be surrounded by – быть окруженным чем-либо

Insular – островной

Chiefly – главным образом

Determine – определять

The temperate belt – умеренный пояс

Prevailing – превалирующий, преобладающий

Wind – ветер

To blow – дуть

West – запад

East – восток

South – юг

North – север

Current – течение

The Gulf Stream – Гольфстрим

To flow – течь

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The Gulf of Mexico – Мексиканский залив

Along - вдоль

Shore – берег (моря)

Feature – особенность, характерная черта

Moderate – умеренный

Striking difference – разительные отличия

Changeable – переменчивый

Fickle – непостоянный, переменчивый

Wet – мокрый, дождливый, сырой

The sky – небо

On the average – в среднем

Heavily – сильно

Within – в переделах

Fog – туман

Thick – густой

Awful – ужасный

Surpass – превосходить

Imagination – воображение, фантазия

Dense – плотный

Vehicle – транспортное средство

Fear – страх

Dreadful – ужасный, страшный

Accident – авария

Mild – мягкий

Humid – влажный

Answer the questions:

1.What climate do the British Isles have? Why?

2.What are three things that determine the climate of the United Kingdom?

3.Is it cold in winter? Is it hot in summer?

4.How often does it rain in England?

5.What are the wettest seasons?

6.How many rainy days a year does Britain have?

7.What are three variants of weather in England?

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8.What English proverb about the weather do you know?

9.Can you name three main features of the British climate?

Complete the sentences!

1.The British Isles are surrounded by …

2.The prevailing winds blow from …

3.The warm current – the Gulf Stream flows from … along …

4.It is not very … in winter and never very … in summer.

5.The weather in Great Britain has a bad …

6.It rains very … in all seasons in Great Britain.

7.The wettest seasons are …

8.The winter fogs in London are …

9.The British climate has three main features: …

Match the words from two columns!

1.___ 2. ___ 3. ___ 4. ___ 5. ___ 6. ___ 7. ___ 8. ___ 9. ___ 10. ___

11. ___ 12. ___ 13. ___

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Weather Forecast

How to tell about the weather?

1.It is + adjective.

Example: It is warm and sunny today. It is a nice day. Mostly – преимущественно

Partly – частично

Very – очень

Fairly – относительно

2.The temperature is 15 degrees above zero (plus 15). – Температура составляет 15 градусов выше нуля.

The temperature is 8 degrees below zero (minus 8). – Температура составляет 8 градусов ниже нуля.

Seasons of the year

Spring – весна

Summer – лето

Autumn – осень (амер. вариант – fall)

Winter – зима

Months

January – январь

February – февраль

March – март

April – апрель

May – май

June – июнь

July – июль

August – август

September – сентябрь

October – октябрь

November – ноябрь

December – декабрь

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Unit 2

Topic 1

Sport in Our Life

Read short texts and answer the questions!

What is sport?

Can you give a description to the word "sport"? Sport is an organized, competitive, entertaining and skillful activity, which requires following some certain rules. It is an integral part of our life. It is very popular among people of all nationalities and different age groups. Sport helps us to be in good form, to keep fit, it makes us more organized, disciplined and strong-willed. Russia is a country famous for its outstanding brilliant sportsmen, especially in winter kinds of sport. Russian teams take worthy places at world championships in ice hockey as well as in figure skating.

Questions:

1.Can you give a description to the word “sport”?

2.How does sport help us?

3.Who is Russia famous for?

Sport for children and teenagers

Sport has become very popular among young generation, since from early childhood children are trained to sport life. Russian schools and universities offer students a wide choice of sporting activities. It can be tennis, table tennis, volleyball, basketball, swimming, football, judo, boxing and others. There are a lot of sport clubs in Russia specialized in various sports, which admit children and teenagers. Many members of such clubs take part in numerous competitions and win medals.

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Questions:

-Is sport popular among young generation?

-What kinds of sport do Russian schools and universities offer students?

-What can students do in sport clubs?

Winter sport in Russia

Russian people like to do many different sports. In summer they usually swim a lot, roller-skate and ride a bicycle. In winter as soon as the first snow falls, nearly all the livers of the country take their cross-country skis and lay out a ski trail. Young sportsmen adore snowboarding and Alpine skiing. Ski resorts all around the country become more and more popular, especially among the youth. There is nothing more pleasant for Russian people in winter than skiing for the whole day and then sitting with friends, chatting and drinking hot tea. You can’t forget about another favourite winter sport of the Russians — it is skating and particularly figure skating. Nowadays many people go to skating-rinks where they can skate even in summer.

Questions:

-What kinds of winter sports do the Russians like?

-What do young sportsmen adore?

-What is the most favourite winter sport of the Russians? Extreme sports

Russian people are ardent fans of extreme sports. For the last several

years there appeared a new youth passion for elastic bungee jumping. You jump off a bridge or a building and fall down to the ground, but just before the moment you hit the water or the ground, an elastic rope pulls you back. There is a similar kind of sport called sky surfing. In this case, you jump

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out of an airplane, which is flying at the height of about 5 km and fall down using a special board to "surf" the air.

Questions:

-Do the Russians like extreme sports?

-Can you name some kinds of extreme sports?

-What is bungee jumping?

Fitness in our country

There is a great number of fitness centres all over Russia. A fitness centre can offer various kinds of trainings. Having your personal card, you have a possibility to attend all the classes included in the programme. It may be everything from a simple gym equipped with a lot of up-to-date gym apparatuses to some dancing classes or a swimming pool. As a rule, men prefer to go to the gym where a trainer gives the advice about exercises, makes a training plan and helps to get in shape. A lot of women prefer to attend group trainings such as aerobics, pilates and yoga.

Questions:

-Are there a lot of fitness centres in Russia?

-What can you do in a fitness centre?

-What do men prefer? What do women prefer? Sport fans

But still many people watch sport programmes on TV and are sure that they can be called sport-lovers. Some of them are keen on attending football and hockey matches at the stadium in order to feel a unique atmosphere. There is a huge amount of football fans in Russia. The sense of empathy is common for Russian people. The team spirit lives in them, that is why they are always ready to support their compatriots at any

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championship. Although there are many good professionals in such famous football clubs as Zenit, Spartak, Rubin and Locomotive, their achievements are not great, but even this fact can’t influence the fans’ attitude to their favourite teams.

Questions:

-Who can be called a sport fan?

-Why do they attend matches?

-Can you name any famous football clubs?

Olympic games

Lots of people in the world are fond of sport, because it’s not only healthy, but also spectacular and exciting. For these reasons people have started the Olympic Games. They appeared in 776 BC in Ancient Greece. Later the Games disappeared and were revived in the present era, in 1896. The first modern Olympics took place in the capital of Greece, Athens. The old tradition to hold the Games every four years was also revived. So, from then on the Olympic Games take place every four years in different cities of the world. At certain times, such as Second World War, the games were not held. The Olympic Games are considered to be the most important international sport championship, which unites people from all over the world. There are two types of Olympic Games: Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics. The official emblem of the Olympic Games is a colourful flag with five interlinked rings. The colours of the rings are blue, red, yellow, green and black.

Questions:

- When and where did the Olympic Games appear?

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-At what times are they not held?

-What are the two types of Olympics?

Vocabulary

Description – описание

Competitive – соревновательный Entertaining – развлекательный

Skillful – требующий определенных навыков

To require – требовать

To follow – следовать Certain – определенный Integral – неотъемлемый

Strong-willed – волевой

Brilliant – блестящий, выдающийся

Especially – особенно

Worthy – достойный

Championship – чемпионат Generation – поколение Childhood – детство Choice – выбор

To admit – принимать

Livers – жители

Cross-country ski – беговые лыжи

To lay out a ski trail – прокладывать лыжню To adore – обожать

Alpine skiing – горные лыжи Resort – курорт

To chat – беседовать

Even – даже

Ardent – пылкий, страстный To appear – появляться Passion – страстное увлечение

Bungee jumping – банджи-джампинг (прыжок с высоты со специальным эластичным канатом)

To hit – ударять(ся) Ground – земля

To pull back – тянуть обратно

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Similar – похожий

Sky surfing – дельтапланеризм In this case – в этом случае

Height – высота Possibility – возможность

To offer – предлагать To use – использовать

To attend – посещать

Gym – тренажерный зал To equip – оснащать Up-to-date – современный To prefer – предпочитать

Advice – совет Shape – форма

To be keen on – увлекаться In order to – чтобы

A huge amount – огромное количество Empathy – сочувствие

Common – зд. присущий

Spirit – дух

To support – поддерживать Compatriot – соотечественник

Although – хотя Achievement – достижение To influence – влиять

Attitude – отношение

Healthy – полезный для здоровья

Spectacular – зрелищный

Reason – причина

To disappear – исчезать

To revive – возрождать(ся)

To consider – считать, полагать To unite – объединять

To interlink – переплетать(ся), соединять(ся)

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