English for post-graduate students. Entrance exam. Учебное пособие

помнить, что многие интернационализмы разошлись в своем значении в русском и английском языках, поэтому их часто называют «ложными друзьями» переводчика. Например:

accurate – точный, а не аккуратный;

brilliant – блестящий, сверкающий, но не бриллиант;

control – не только контролировать, но и управлять;

abstract – помимо абстракт (геол.), реферат, краткий обзор;

academic – преподаватель, научный сотрудник вуза, никогда –

академик;

accompany – помимо аккомпанировать, сопровождать;

blank – пробел, чистый; (редко) бланк;

data – данные, сведения, но не дата;

decade – десятилетие, а не декада;

list – список, а не лист;

magazine – журнал, но не магазин;

personal – личный, а не персонал.

Практическое задание. Прочитайте следующие слова, выделите слова-интернационализмы и переведите их без словаря:

signal, concept, approach, element, method, effect, control, problem, text, structure, transformation, practical, sign, form, character, parameter, technology, assessment, curricular, sufficient, manuals, existence, perception, universe, doctrine, data, self-esteem, anxiety, interacts. public, natural, limit, idea, hospital, general, figure, distance, character, actual, active, republic, constitution, revolution, democratic, party, culture, territory, kilometer, parallel.

2.3 Работа со словарем

Работа со словарем является неотъемлемой частью чтения научной литературы. Она способствует углублению и расширению знаний в области лексики, грамматики, фонетики и орфографии.

Чтобы быстро находить нужное слово в словаре, необходимо:

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1)твердо знать алфавит, чтобы работать со словарем не электронного формата;

2)знать порядок размещения слов на одну букву в словаре по принципу последовательности алфавита вплоть до последних букв слова;

3)знать построение словаря: условные обозначения, расположение справочного материала, группировку слов в семантическое (смысловое)

гнездо, исходные формы слов.

Во многих словарях принята алфавитно-гнездовая система слов. По этой системе термины, состоящие из определений и определяемых слов,

следует искать по определяемым словам (ведущим терминам). Например,

термин interpersonal interaction следует искать в гнезде термина interaction.

В гнезде термины расположены следующим образом: термины с последующими определениями – в алфавитном порядке этих определений,

термины с предшествующими определениями – также в алфавитном порядке определений. Фразеологические сочетания даны в подбор к ведущему термину и отделены от него знаком. Ведущий термин в гнезде заменяется знаком (тильдой).

Например:

Back – 1. спина; 2. спинка; 3. обратная сторона; задняя сторона; to away отводить; to off затыловывать, отвинчивать; of arch внешняя поверхность арки и т. д.

Помните, что слово в словаре всегда помещается в исходной форме:

существительное – в единственном числе; прилагательное – в положительной степени сравнения; глагол – в трех формах: инфинитив (исходная форма глагола), Past Simple, Past Participle. Если вторая и третья формы одинаковы,

то помещается только одна форма.

2.4 Практическое задание

Read and understand the following text. Consult the commentaries to the

text.

New Window on the Universe

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Even on a clear night, astronomers cannot see everything. Light from the stars is diffused, and distorted by the earth’s atmosphere. To the casual stargazer, that produces a beautiful twinkle, but to the astronomer it is a tragic blur. Star watchers have long dreamed of somehow getting above the atmosphere to have an unobstructed look at the universe.

Now their opportunity has come. This week the space shuttle «Discovery» was scheduled to take off and deliver into earth orbit the Hubble space telescope, a bus – size instrument that will see the cosmos ten times as clearly as any groundbased telescope ever has. Scientists have impatiently awaited the historic launch through three years of delays caused by the shuttle’s problems in the aftermath of the «Challenger» explosion.

Once aloft in the dark void of space, the Hubble promises a leap in astronomical observing power unlike anything since 1609, when Galileo first pointed a telescope at the heavens. As never before, astronomers have a realistic hope of seeing planets that orbit distant stars, watching tidal waves of energy swirl around black holes and spotting the birth of galaxies. «The Hubble», says U.S. presidential science adviser D. Allan Bromley, «will open entirely new windows on the universe».

Named for Edwin Hubble, the great astronomer who discovered in the 1920s that the universe is expanding, the space telescope has a mirror 2.4 meters (7.9 ft.) in diameter that will focus light on an array of cameras and instruments.

After recording and analyzing the radiation, the instruments will translate it into electronic impulses and beam it down to earth at a prodigious rate – fast enough to fill a 30-volume encyclopedia in 42 minutes. Moreover, the Hubble will literally view the stars in a new light: the space observatory can see ultraviolet radiation that fails to reach ground telescopes because it is largely blocked by the earth’s ozone shield.

Building the Hubble and putting it into space has cost the U.S. Government $ 1.5 billion, and that is only the beginning of the investment, which will likely top $ 5 billion [23].

Commentaries to the text

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stargazer, star watcher - на первый взгляд, эти два слова могут показаться синонимами, однако их различают значения глаголов to gaze and to watch. Star watcher – «астроном, человек, для которого наблюдение за небом и звездами является его профессией»; stargazer – «человек,

любующийся звездным небом». Такой перевод подсказан дефиницией глагола to gaze, которую предлагает словарь «The Random House Dictionary (the unabridged edition)»: to look steadily and intently at smth., esp. at that which excites admiration, curiosity, or interest.

a tragic blur – катастрофически плохая видимость. В языках существуют слова, которые, помимо своего основного, денотативного значения, имеют эмоциональное значение, выражающее субъективное отношение говорящего. В данном случае прилагательное tragic не имеет отношения к какой-либо трагедии. Здесь оно эмоционально окрашено и выражает высокую степень качества. Для того чтобы правильно перевести мысль, нужно найти в русском языке «эмоциональный эквивалент», который смог бы передать нужную степень качества и при этом не нарушить нормы сочетаемости русского языка. Буквальный перевод – «трагически плохая видимость» – вряд ли приемлем.

space shuttle – космический корабль многоразового использования. a bus – size instrument – устройство величиной с автобус.

once aloft in the dark void of space…- Once – более знакомое как наречие, может иногда употребляться в функции союза в значении «если», «как только», «когда».

Во втором абзаце текста предложение «This week… telescope everhas»

желательно расчленить на два самостоятельных.

Для английской публицистики и научной прозы характерно объединение в одном предложении относительно независимых мыслей. Здесь переводчик имеет право воспользоваться приемом членения предложений.

Это бывает нужно также для того, чтобы при переводе избежать громоздких фраз, не свойственных русскому языку.

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Billion - в американском варианте английского языка это число означает «миллиард»; в британском – «биллион».

3 Образцы текстов для чтения по специальностям

гуманитарных направлений подготовки

Here we give the examples of some texts which can help you prepare for the entrance exam. Read and understand these texts. Give a summary of the texts and translate the passages in italics into Russian.

3.1 Text 1

Some Philosophical Aspects

Philosophical knowledge, if what has been said above is true, does not differ essentially from scientific knowledge; there is no special source of wisdom which is open to philosophy but not to science, and the results obtained by philosophy are not radically different from those obtained from science. The essential characteristic of philosophy, which makes it a study distinct from science, is criticism. It examines critically the principles employed in science and in daily life; it searches out any inconsistencies there may be in these principles, and it only accepts them when, as the result of a critical inquiry, no reason for rejecting them has appeared. If, as many philosophers have believed, the principles underlying the sciences were capable, when disengaged from irrelevant detail, of giving us knowledge concerning the universe as a whole, such knowledge would have the same claim on our belief as scientific knowledge has; but our inquiry has not revealed any such knowledge, and therefore, as regards the special doctrines of the bolder metaphysicians, has had a mainly negative result. But as regards what would be commonly accepted as knowledge, our result is in the main positive: we have seldom found reason to reject such knowledge as the result of our criticism, and we have seen no reason to suppose man incapable of the kind of knowledge which he is generally believed to possess [7 ].

3.2 Text 2

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A View of Learning and Teaching

A key idea of this book is that we can improve our teaching by studying our students’ learning. It will be useful to be clear from the start just what I mean by learning. One of the ideas you will meet time and time again as you read the following chapters is that learning in educational institutions should be about changing the ways in which learners understand, or experience, or conceptualise the world around them. The ‘world around them’ includes the concepts and methods that are characteristic of the discipline or profession that they are studying.

From this point of view, the vital competences in academic disciplines consist in understanding. By understanding, I mean the way in which students apprehend and discern phenomena related to the subject, rather than what they know about them or how they can manipulate them. Many students can juggle formulae and reproduce memorised textbook knowledge while not understanding their subjects in a way that is helpful for solving real problems. Merely being able to repeat quantities of information on demand is not evidence of a change in understanding—at any level of education. Learning that involves a change in understanding implies and includes a facility with a subject’s techniques and an ability to remember its details. These skills become embedded in our knowledge during the slow process of changing our understanding of a topic, as anyone who will reflect on their own learning will recognise.

The idea of learning as a qualitative change in a person’s view of reality is essential to an appreciation of my main argument. I shall maintain that improving teaching involves the same process that informs high quality student learning. It implies changing how we think about and experience teaching—it involves changes in our conceptions, in our common-sense theories of teaching as they are expressed in practice. These theories consist of sets of ideas and knowledge of their application. But they are not coherent conceptual structures inside teachers’ heads; they are expressed, as far as the individual teacher is concerned, solely in their experiences of teaching. They are exemplified through individual activity in

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the classroom, the design and implementation of educational programmes, and even the management of teaching departments and institutions [8].

3.3 Text 3

A Rationale for Learning to Teach Better

These pressures form an inescapable background for any discussion of better teaching in universities, colleges, and polytechnics. As you read this book, you may be wondering how to cope next week with a class that has grown to twice its former size, or how to convince your head of department that your performance is excellent in your annual appraisal. One way to address these problems would be for me to write and you to read a book about how to handle large classes, or how to present evidence in an appraisal interview. These are reasonable questions; but we should be careful not to confuse symptoms with causes. We deceive ourselves if we think that responses to new demands like these constitute our real problem, as surely as institutions and governments deceive themselves if they think that the forces of accountability will automatically improve the standard of teaching and research, and as surely as students deceive themselves if they think that passing tomorrow’s examination is what learning is all about. The truth is that the stresses placed on us form an entirely inadequate basis for enhancing the quality of teaching. Something else is needed to make teaching better. If you really want to improve your own teaching, you must understand what this something is.

Teaching is one of the most delightful and exciting of all human activities when it is done well and that it is one of the most humiliating and tedious when it is done poorly. Let us be clear about one fact: the quality of undergraduate education needs to improve, and it has needed to improve for a long time. No golden age of impeccable instruction and taken-for-granted high academic standards ever existed, except in the world of academic mythology. Appraisal or no appraisal, large classes or small, it is useless to deny that, although there is much that is and has been excellent in higher education teaching, there is a great deal that has always been frankly bad. And there is little in the world of education that is more depressing than bad university teaching.

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Perhaps its nadir is reached in the vision of an outstanding scholar standing before a class of brilliant, hand-picked first year students. He or she mumbles lifelessly from a set of well-worn notes while half the class snoozes and the other makes desultory jottings, or maybe - if this is an engineering or medicine lecture especially - tests new aerodynamic theories by constructing and launching paper projectiles. Everyone longs to get the hour over and get back to something serious.

The greatest fault of this sort of «teaching» is not that it is inefficient or ineffective as a way of helping students to learn (though it is that as well) but that it is a tragic waste of knowledge, experience, youth, time, and ability. There need never be any excuse for it: every teacher can learn how to do better. Anyone who has seen really good teaching in action will not need to invoke the exigencies of performance appraisal and maintaining academic standards as reasons for improvement. I think they will begin to understand the truth of the proposition that good teaching, though never easy, always strenuous, and sometimes painful, is nevertheless its own reward [8].

3.4 Text 4

The Weird World of Victorian Etiquette

The codes of etiquette and good manners have been evolving for thousands of years. It's regarded as one the traits of a civilised society. This maybe so, but when you look at the rule books of Victorian etiquette its like good manners gone mad! Some of the rules are silly and others are weird!

For modern women, some of the following «rules of etiquette» might seem quaint but others are chauvinistic. So be warned, you may end up either squirming in your seat or raging with indignation!

Appearance:

It was the role of women to, «always be graceful,composed and refined». In addition, the main goal of female etiquette was to please the man.

The dressing room of a woman was a sanctuary from any male presence or influence. However, the use of the dressing room was to ensure she had everything she needed to look good for her husband. This is where dress, hairstyles and make-up

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would be tried and tested so that, «..the husband should always find the wife fresh, beautiful and sweet as a flower..».

Women had a duty to look beautiful at all times but they must also ensure that

«...they make it look like there was no effort at all...» It was also proper etiquette for the woman to always wear her hair up unless in the privacy of the bed chamber.

Duties:

The ideal Victorian woman was always busy and very able. According to many etiquette books, she could always draw strength from her «moral superiority».

In Victorian society the main role of a lady was to serve others. This could take many forms from ensuring she was always beautiful and clean to holding dinner parties. In everything she did it had to be aimed at pleasing her husband and society.

Behaviour:

When a lady wanted to cross the street there were strict rules on which way to carry her dress. She must hold the dress slightly above the ankle, holding the folds with her right hand and drawing them towards the right. It was apparently «vulgar» to lift the dress with both hands as far too much ankle would be shown. However, a woman could show her ankles for a brief moment if there was a lot of mud on the ground and needed to ensure her dress was clear of the ground.

During courting it was permitted for a man to bring gifts to the lady but they had to be of a particular kind - flowers, a book, perhaps sweets were also given. However, the lady could never give a present to a man until he had first given her a present. The presents given to the man had a strict code - they had to be artistic, handmade and not expensive.

Single women in particular were never to indulge in behaviour with a man where it might in anyway lead to being «kissed or handled in anyway». If a man wanted to admire a necklace for example, the woman had to remove it and hand it over for inspection. Under no circumstances was the item to be inspected while she wore it.

In marriage a woman had no rights over own body. Her husband - with the full backing of church and law - could force sex and childbirth onto her and could use

«moderate» discipline for correcting a wife. He also inherited all her money and

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goods on marriage and was free to spend her wealth on mistresses, prostitutes, gambling, drink or whatever else took his fancy.

In law «adultery» was not seen as an excuse for a wife to seek divorce from her husband. However, a man would succeed in getting a divorce if the wife had been the adulterer [9].

3.5 Text 5

Self-Actualisation - The Maslow Theory

Self-Actualisation is the quest to become the best you can be. It involves deciding what you want from life and then doing what is necessary to get what you want.

Self-actualisation is a term coined by psychologist Abraham Maslow to describe the ongoing process of fully developing your personal potential. The first thing to note about self-actualisation is that it is a process not a goal. In other words, self-actualisation is not something that you aim for: it is something that you do. The second thing to note is that self-actualisation is not restricted to highprofile, high-achieving individuals; you don't have to be famous to self-actualise.

«A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This is the need we may call self-actualization ... It refers to man's desire for fulfillment, namely to the tendency for him to become actually in what he is potentially: to become everything that one is capable of becoming ...» – Maslow [10].

3.6 Text 6

What is Philosophy?

The term philosophy comes from the ancient Greek word «Φιλοσοφία»

(philo-sophia), which means «love of wisdom». According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the original meaning of the word encompassed all knowledge. Over time, it gained the more specialized meaning of knowledge of the world, as contrasted with knowledge of the divine. Science was originally called «natural philosophy». The most modern meaning of the word is the study of things that are ultimate, and with the most general causes and principles.

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