Reading and Comprehension. Учебно-методическое пособие по практике английского языка

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ПРОСВЕЩЕНИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

«АРМАВИРСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ» ИНСТИТУТ РУССКОЙ И ИНОСТРАННОЙ ФИЛОЛОГИИ

КАФЕДРА ИНОСТРАННЫХ ЯЗЫКОВ И МЕТОДИКИ ИХ ПРЕПОДАВАНИЯ

READING

AND

COMPREHENSION

Учебно-методическое пособие

по практике английского языка

Армавир

АГПУ

2022

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Рецензенты:

Д.Е. Блинова – кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры отечественной и зарубежной филологии

НЧОУ ВО «Армавирский лингвистический социальный институт»

А.В. Папикян – кандидат педагогических наук, доцент кафедры иностранных языков и методики их преподавания

ФГБОУ ВО «Армавирский государственный педагогический университет»

R 30 Reading and Comprehension : учебно-методическое пособие

по практике английского языка / авторы-составители: С. А. Малахова, Л. Э. Кузнецова, И. А. Андреева. – Армавир : РИО АГПУ, 2022. – 76 с.

ISBN 978-5-89971-875-5

Цель пособия – развитие у студентов навыков чтения и адекватного понимания текстов на английском языке. Предлагаемые тексты представляют собой журнальные статьи различной тематики. Пособие может быть использовано в качестве материала для проведения практических занятий по английскому языку, а также для самостоятельной работы студентов.

УДК 811.111 (075.8) ББК 81. 43-21

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INTRODUCTION

For many students of English as a foreign language reading English is both the primary means, by which they become acquainted with the content of the subject they are studying, and the most important way to develop their knowledge of the language itself.

The purpose of this book is to provide reading materials and teach various skills. It contains articles of variety topics. Texts are interesting and they can help students to keep their own use of English fresh.

Each part of a book contains a number of exercises; its aim is to improve reading and comprehension techniques. These articles can be used not only for developing comprehension activities, but also as a basis for other language teaching activities, such as class discussion or intensive vocabulary work. Most of texts have Internet links to some activities connected to the theme of articles. So students can listen to the article online or download audio.

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ECOTOURISM by Linda Baxter

Imagine the scene. You're sitting in the hot sunshine beside the swimming pool of your international luxury hotel, drinking your imported gin and tonic. In front of you is the beach, reserved for hotel guests with motor boats for hire. Behind you is an 18-hole golf course, which was cleared from the native forest and is kept green by hundreds of water sprinklers. Around the hotel are familiar international restaurant chains and the same shops that you have at home. You've seen some local people – some of them sell local handicrafts outside the hotel. You bought a small wooden statue and after arguing for half an hour you only paid a quarter of what the man was asking. Really cheap!

Is this your idea of heaven or would you prefer something different?

Nowadays, many of us try to live in a way that will damage the environment as little as possible. We recycle our newspapers and bottles, we take public transport to get to work, we try to buy locally produced fruit and vegetables and we stopped using aerosol sprays years ago. And we want to take these attitudes on holiday with us. This is why alternative forms of tourism are becoming more popular all over the world.

But what is ecotourism? There are lots of names for these new forms of tourism: responsible tourism, alternative tourism, sustainable tourism, nature tourism, adventure tourism, educational tourism and more. Ecotourism probably involves a little of all of them. Everyone has a different definition but most people agree that ecotourism must:

1)conserve the wildlife and culture of the area;

2)benefit the local people and involve the local community;

3)be sustainable, that is make a profit without destroying natural resources;

4)provide an experience that tourists want to pay for.

So for example, in a true ecotourism project, a nature reserve allows a small number of tourists to visit its rare animals and uses the money that is generated to continue with important conservation work. The local people have jobs in the nature reserve as guides and wardens, but also have a voice in how the project develops. Tourists stay in local houses with local people, not in specially built hotels. So they experience the local culture and do not take precious energy and water away from the local population. They travel on foot, by boat, bicycle or elephant so that there is no pollution. And they have a special experience that they will remember all of their lives.

This type of tourism can only involve small numbers of people so it can be expensive. But you can apply the principles of ecotourism wherever you go for your holiday. Just remember these basic rules.

Be prepared. Learn about the place that you're going to visit. Find out about its culture and history. Learn a little of the native language, at least basics like 'Please', 'Thank you', and 'Good Morning'. Think of your holiday as an opportunity to learn something.

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Have respect for local culture. Wear clothes that will not offend people. Always ask permission before you take a photograph. Remember that you are a visitor.

Don't waste resources. If the area doesn't have much water, don't take two showers every day.

Remember the phrase "Leave nothing behind you except footprints and take

nothing away except photographs." Take as much care of the places that you visit as you take of your own home. · Don't buy souvenirs made from endangered animals

or plants.

Walk or use other non-polluting forms of transport whenever you can.

Be flexible and keep a sense of humour when things go wrong.

Stay in local hotels and eat in local restaurants. Buy local products whenever possible and pay a fair price for what you buy.

Choose your holiday carefully. Don't be afraid to ask the holiday company about what they do that is 'eco'. Remember that 'eco' is very fashionable today and a lot of holidays that are advertised as ecotourism are not much better than traditional tourism.

But before you get too enthusiastic, think about how you are going to get to your dream 'eco' paradise. Flying is one of the biggest man-made sources of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Friends of the Earth say that one return flight from London to Miami puts as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as the average British car driver produces in a year. So don't forget that you don't have to fly to exotic locations for your 'eco' holiday. There are probably places of natural beauty and interest in your own country that you've never visited.

After reading

At the top are 14 words from the article. Below are definitions of these words. Can you match the words to their definitions?

1.[....................] are devices used to direct water in order to water plants, grass, etc.

2.A [....................] is a group of establishments which belong to a single company, have the same appearance and sell similar food.

3.[....................] are skilled activities in which things are made in a traditional way with the hands rather than being produced by machines in a factory, or the objects made by such activities.

4. [....................] is used to refer to a way of using natural products so that no damage is caused to the environment.

5.[....................] means animals and plants that grow independently of people, usually in natural conditions.

6.To [....................] means to receive or give a helpful or good effect.

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TOWN OR COUNTRY MOUSE? by John Russell

Once upon a time, there were two mice – cousins. One lived in the town and the other in the country. The town mouse was a very superior mouse, who thought that living in the town was far better than living the country. So one day, he invited his coun-

try cousin to stay with him in his town house and experience the civilized lifestyle of the town. They sat down to a meal, which to the country mouse was a feast. “Goodness me” he said. “If I was in the country, I would be having only simple bread and cheese in the quiet of my peaceful home.” Suddenly, there was a loud noise at the door. “Don’t worry,” said the town mouse, “that’s just my neighbour – the dog, he wants to join us for dinner.” The country mouse ate a little faster. Another noise was heard outside, even louder this time. “Oh dear” said the town mouse, “the cat who lives facing my house wants to join us too.” Quickly eating the last of his meal, the country mouse said, “thank you, but I think I will return to the peace and quiet of my own house after all!” Then he

ran back home as fast as his legs could carry him.

This simple tale (taken from Aesop’s famous stories) shows that what may be a good place to live for one person, may not be good for another. A modern version of this story might look like this:

Maria lives in a big city surrounded by the speed and convenience of urban life. She works in an office with 1000 other employees, and travels too and from there on a crowded Metro. Her home is a flat overlooking a busy city-street, which is always alive with the sound of traffic and people passing by. After work she meets with friends in a bar or restaurant before going on to a disco or nightclub. Weekends are spent in the shopping mall with its numerous shops, multi-screen cinemas, fast food and entertainment complexes.

Alex, however, lives in a small village in the countryside. He cycles to work down country lanes every morning, the sound of tractors, birds and animals in his ears. In the evening, he relaxes at home in front of the fire with a good book to read. At weekends, he goes for long walks in the fields with his dog.

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Unfortunately, life is not as simple as stories make it. A lot of today’s ‘town mice’ such as Maria would be happy to live in the country. Many modern cities have

very large populations (Tokyo or Mexico City – over 25 million) and can be crowded, dirty and dangerous places to live. More than half the world’s population now lives

in cities. In much of Europe and North America this can be as high as much as 80 % of a country’s population. (According to the United Nations, approximately 1 billion

people in cities are living in slum conditions – overcrowded and unhealthy).

The 18th Century marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the depopulation of the countryside, and the move to towns. The towns became places of mass

employment in factories and offices. Today, many town dwellers wish to reverse this trend and return to a slower pace of life like Alex, our modern ‘country mouse’. Yet,

a modern country existence is not without its problems; poor transport, lack of access to hospitals and education, and services found in towns such as large shops, banks and entertainment.

The debate between town and country is meaningless these days, as so many people live in towns, and very few people are actually able to choose where they live; this is dictated by their work or birth. The internet and other mass media have linked country areas to the world, providing access to information – even to remote areas. If people are to be persuaded to stay in the countryside, other benefits of the city need to be available (employment, healthcare and education). Conversely, the introduction of city parks and forests, and traffic free zones, has helped in bringing a little of the countryside to the city streets.

The UN World habitat day (4th October) this year looks at this issue. It emphasises the need for strong links between town and countryside, and their mutual dependence upon each other. Are you a town mouse or a country mouse?

After reading Exercise

Below are 10 sentences from the text, but the words are in the wrong order and the punctuation is missing. Can you put the words in the correct order and put in the punctuation?

1)civilised mouse town the city life thought was;

2)peace quiet the and country missed mouse;

3)maria’s a busy house overlooks street city;

4)the shopping weekends goes to maria mall at;

5)reading of the alex enjoys front in fire;

6)large very modern have cities populations;

7)to are live slums places overcrowded;

th

8)in 18 moved to countryside people city the from century;

9)internet in information the people to provides local areas;

10)the is world un in october day habitat.

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UNIVERSITIES by Richard Sidaway

More than a quarter of the working population of the USA has one. Cairo, Bologna, and Paris have been offering them the longest. And you can now supposedly get them by sitting at home at a computer. What am I talking about? A university education, of course. So who goes to university and what do they get out of their experience?

Admission

Most universities don’t let just anyone in. Grades in the subjects you take in the final years of secondary education are what usually count and in many countries people also have to do an entry test. While most participants in higher education are in the 18–25 age group, some people choose to take a break from work later on in life and opt for the role of mature student, bringing experience of work and the real world to their studies.

Which one to go to

In many countries there is a pecking order to the universities, with a few high status institutions at he top turning out an intellectual elite and attracting the best minds in teaching and research. Take a quick name check of the leading writers, politicians or scientists in the UK or the USA and you should find the majority chose to spend their student years sitting in the dining halls and libraries of Oxford and Cambridge

or Harvard, Princeton and Yale. The raining grounds for medicine, law or engineering in Britain tend to be the metropolitan ‘redbrick’universities slightly lower down the list.

Money

When entrance was restricted to a lucky few in Britain, the state actually paid the sons and daughters of the middle classes not only the irtuition fees but also a yearly grant towards living expenses as well. These days most European and North American students are given a loan which they have to pay back to the government once they are in full-time employment, or they finance themselves by working their way through college with part-time jobs in the evenings or at weekends.

Where to live

For the majority of students, attending auniversity in a town or city near to where they liveis the only financially viable option, but in Britain for many years going to university meant leaving home, with all the freedom and independence that implied. Universities traditionally offer cheap and clean accommodation in halls of residence or student houses. After a year or so, many students opt to share private rented accommodation outside the university, which often pushes their culinary and hygiene skills to the limit.

Year out

These days if you haven’t taken time off between finishing school and embarking on higher education, you haven’t really lived. The gap year can be devoted to working

for charities in different parts of the world, or simply to travelling, but it can at least concentrate the mind and perhaps give you a few more ideas about what you should do with the rest of your life. If you want to study abroad, you can often get a year out as part of a language course, or enter a scholarship programme such as Erasmus to support you

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while studying at a foreign university. Business or management students often devote time away from university in the form of a work placement, to help them gain practical experience in a professional environment.

Teaching & learning

A common feature of any university is attending lectures, which involves taking notes while a lecturer, a university teacher, is speaking to large group of students. In Britain, you are also expected to present a subject perhaps once a term and comment on it in tutorials. These are small group discussions led by a lecturer at which closer analysis of a particular area is undertaken. Science-oriented courses also involve practical lessons and field trips which enable students to get to grips with their chosen course of study in the laboratory or beyond the university walls.

How you are doing

As at school, progress is measured by examinations, either divided into Parts I & II, or taken at the end of the course, and known as Finals. Alternatively, it can be based on continuous assessment and course work. An important component of most systems is the extended dissertation, a piece of writing measured by the number of words a student has to produce, say 10,000. This must be based on some original research from primary as well as secondary sources and on some sort of gathering and interpretation of data.

Social life

There is an old saying that ‘all work and no playmakes Jack a dull boy’, and pro- spective students expect a rich and varied social life. Friendships forged in the student union bar or in the many and varied clubs & societies that exist at most universities may last a lifetime. In the USA fraternities & sororities encourage a similar bond.

Life after university

Well before the graduation ceremony, when students queue up to receive their degrees from the Chancellor of the university at a special ceremony, the careers office has been busy assessing future graduates for the kind of employment paths they should take by giving them an aptitude test, arranging interviews, company presentations and recruitment fairs. For those attracted by the academic life, there are further opportunities for study on Masters and Doctorate (PhD) programmes and on into further research and teaching. And what does university education all add up to? This was the opinion of Theodore Roosevelt, a former US American President – A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education he may steal the whole railroad. Or is it as an American journalist, Sydney Harris, said? – The primary purpose of a liberal educationis to make one's mind a pleasant place in which to spend one's time.

You can find more information at: https://www.ukuni.net/universities https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/

After reading

For each section, match the words taken from the text (in the box at the top) with the definitions below.

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