Осознанное чтение тексты и задания = Mindful Reading texts and tasks. Учебное пособие = Textbook-1

PART 1. FICTION VS NON-FICTION

Mindful reading: Text Types

Description / narration / explanation / argumentation / instruction

Fill in the gaps:

1)… is used to relate events, i.e. to tell a story.

2)… is essentially factual writing; its aim is to make something clear.

3)… refers to how something or somebody looks like.

4)… is used to teach people to do something.

5)… deals with controversial matter and expresses a clear opinion.

10.Identify the types of each text. How does it shape the choice of the language?

11.Text 1.1A: How can you explain the use of verb tenses (present simple and past simple) and the abundant use of passive voice structures?

12.Text 1.1B: Do you like the author’s choice of words? If yes, what features of his style particularly appeal to you? Can you identify epithets used in the fragment and characterize them, what role do they play? Focus on the syntactical structures in paragraphs 3 and 4, how can you explain the change in the tempo of the narration? What do you think of one-word sentences, what is their function?

13.Text 1.1C: What grammar form is typical of this type of the text? Can you think of other texts where this form prevails? Is the text rich in imagery? Why (not)?

Follow Up

Choose any dish you like and describe it in a text of your own (200300 words). You can follow any strategy you find appropriate, writing either a Wikipedia entry, a memoir, or a recipe, or invent your own plan. Make sure your choice of vocabulary and syntax is consistent with the aim of your writing.

11

С. Ю. СТЕПАНОВА. ОСОЗНАННОЕ ЧТЕНИЕ: ТЕКСТЫ И ЗАДАНИЯ ● MINDFUL READING: TEXTS AND TASKS

Mindful reading: Fact or opinion

Which sentence contains facts? Which sentence expresses the author’s opinion? Mark the statements with F (fact) or O (opinion).

1)The sky was grey.

2)The sky was steel.

3)The best place to search for information is the Internet.

4)A shocking 16.3% Americans are without health insurance.

5)Lewis Carroll wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

6)Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of Lewis Carroll’s most famous books.

7)Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a clever book that is enjoyed by children and adults alike.

8)February is the shortest month of the year.

9)February will never end!

10)Ottawa is the capital of Canada.

11)I wandered lonely as a cloud…

12)Party starts with potato chips

Write down 4 statements representing facts / opinions and have your group mates identify them with F or O. Can you think of some rules which will help you tell apart opinion from fact?

Section 2: Sand

Beyond the text: Matching

1)potash

2)stucco

3)ore

4)gemstone

5)tin

a)a type of plaster used for covering walls and ceilings, usually formed into decorative patterns

12

PART 1. FICTION VS NON-FICTION

b)a silver-coloured metal, often combined with other metals

c)a white powder containing potassium that is put on soil to make crops grow better

d)rock or soil from which metal can be obtained

e)a precious stone

Text 1.2A

Among the many thousands of things that I have never been able to understand, one in particular stands out. That is the question of who was the first person who stood by a pile of sand and said, ‘You know, I bet if we took some of this and mixed it with a little potash and heated it, we could make a material that would be solid and yet transparent. We could call it glass.’ Call me obtuse, but you could stand me on a beach till the end of time and never would it occur to me to try to make it into windows.

Much as I admire sand’s miraculous ability to be transformed into useful objects like glass and concrete, I am not a great fan of it in its natural state. To me, it is primarily a hostile barrier that stands between a car park and water. It blows in your face, gets in your sandwiches, swallows vital objects like car keys and coins. In hot countries, it burns your feet and makes you go ‘Ooh! Ah!’ and hop to the water in a fashion that people with better bodies find amusing.When you are wet,it adheres to you like stucco, and cannot be shifted with a fireman’s hose. But – and here’s a strange thing – the moment you step on a beach towel, climb into a car or walk across a recently vacuumed carpet it all falls off.

For days afterwards,you tip astounding,mysteriously undiminishing piles of it onto the floor every time you take off your shoes, and spray the vicinity with quantities more when you peel off your socks. Sand stays with for longer than many contagious diseases. And dogs use it as a lavatory. No, you may keep sand as far as I am concerned.

(taken from Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson)

Text 1.2B

Sand, mineral, rock, or soil particles that range in diameter from 0.02 to 2 mm (0.0008–0.08 inch). Most of the rock-forming minerals that occur on the Earth’s surface are found in sand, but only a limited number are

13

С. Ю. СТЕПАНОВА. ОСОЗНАННОЕ ЧТЕНИЕ: ТЕКСТЫ И ЗАДАНИЯ ● MINDFUL READING: TEXTS AND TASKS

common in this form. Although in some localities feldspar, calcareous material, iron ores, and volcanic glass are dominant constituents of sand, quartz is by far the commonest, for several reasons: it is abundant in rocks, is comparatively hard, has practically no cleavage so that it is not readily worn down, is nearly insoluble in water, and does not decompose. Most quartzose sands contain a small quantity of feldspar,as well as small plates of white mica, which, though soft, decompose slowly.

All sands contain small quantities of heavy rock-forming minerals, including garnet, tourmaline, zircon, rutile, topaz, pyroxenes, and amphiboles. In some shore and river sands these heavier constituents, as well as some of the heavy native elements, become concentrated as a result of sorting by currents and the removal of the lighter constituents. Such placer sands may be economically valuable deposits worked for diamonds and other gemstones, gold, platinum, tin, monazite, and other ores. Greensands, widely distributed over the floor of the ocean and found in ancient strata on the continents, owe their colour to the presence of glauconite, a potash-bearing mineral; these sands are used for water softeners.

(Encyclopedia Britannica)

Tasks

1.Reread the texts slowly, try to compare and contrast them.

2.What is the key topic of both texts?

3.Identify types of these texts.

4.Which text is fact-based? Which text is opinion-based? Support your point.

5.In which text is the author present? In which text is the author absent?

6.Which text sounds personal? Which text sounds impersonal? How is it reflected in the choice of the vocabulary and syntax?

7.What is the key function of Text A? What is the key function of Text B?

8.Do you like the author’s choice of words in Text A? If yes, what devices do you find most effective?

9.Which text represents fiction? Which texts represents nonfiction? What makes you think so?

14

PART 1. FICTION VS NON-FICTION

Examples of text analysis

Text 1.2A can be viewed as a sample of fiction since it performs not only the informative function but also the aesthetic function. When describing sand the author appeals to our feelings and emotions; his observations related to this substance are quite ironic. Bill Bryson resorts to hyperbole when describing its characteristics (‘sand stays with you longer than many contagious diseases’), hence, the description can be characterized as emotional and expressive. The author addresses the reader directly, the use of the pronouns ‘you’ and ‘I’ makes the text sound personal, and the reader feels involved in the story. Thus, the description presented is obviously subjective, opinionbased and individual

Text 1.2B is taken from the encyclopedia entry, so its key function is to provide us with objective information concerning the essence of sand. The text is explanatory, it is fact-based and impersonal. The information about sands is presented logically and coherently. The use of terminology (glauconite, insoluble, feldspar), passive voice structures and ‘timeless’ Present Simple guarantees the objectivity of the scientific material. Lack of emotionally coloured words, imagery and personal pronouns helps to achieve the effect of impersonality. The tone is neutral or even formal. Therefore, we may conclude that the fragment under consideration is a piece of non-fiction.

Mindful reading: Fiction vs non-fiction

Which statements best illustrate fiction? Which are related to nonfiction? Which may refer to both?

1)It is essentially objective.

2)It is mostly subjective.

3)It is based on imagination.

4)It does not contain real facts or events.

5)It discusses true events, facts and information.

6)There is no scope for imagination here.

15

С. Ю. СТЕПАНОВА. ОСОЗНАННОЕ ЧТЕНИЕ: ТЕКСТЫ И ЗАДАНИЯ ● MINDFUL READING: TEXTS AND TASKS

7)The writer can be flexible.

8)It suggests only one interpretation.

9)It is straightforward.

10)It offers a plurality of interpretations.

11)It offers a direct presentation of information and facts.

12)It is given from the perspective of a real person.

13)It is told from the point of view of a made up character.

14)References must be provided.

15)Its aim is to entertain readers.

16)Its aim is to educate.

17)The writer can add his / her opinion.

18)Its aim is to give food for thought.

19)It is aimed to trigger emotions.

20)It builds empathy.

Mindful reading: Fiction vs non-fiction

Fill in the table

16

PART 1. FICTION VS NON-FICTION

Classify the following kinds of writing and mark them with F or NF

Novels, fables, letters, mass media texts, short stories, romance, sci-fi, essays, biographies, diaries, thrillers, fantasy, self-help books, personal blogs, young adult, magical realism, dystopian, reference books.

Food for thought

Sometimes the name ‘nonfiction novels’ is used to describe books where real historical figures and events are represented with fictionlike story-telling techniques. The blending ‘faction’ (fact + fiction) is synonymously used to refer to such books as In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly, etc. Do you think the Russian equivalent ‘нехудожественный роман’ is an appropriate translation?

Section 3: Winter

Text 1.3 A

Winter, coldest season of the year, between autumn and spring; the name comes from an old Germanic word that means “time of water” and refers to the rain and snow of winter in middle and high latitudes. In the Northern Hemisphere it is commonly regarded as extending from the winter solstice (year’s shortest day), December 21 or 22, to the vernal equinox (day and night equal in length), March 20 or 21, and in the Southern Hemisphere from June 21 or 22 to September 22 or 23. The low temperatures associated with winter occur only in middle and high latitudes; in equatorial regions, temperatures are almost uniformly high throughout the year. For physical causes of the seasons, see season.

The concept of winter in European languages is associated with the season of dormancy, particularly in relation to crops; some plants die, leaving their seeds, and others merely cease growth until spring. Many animals also become dormant, especially those that hibernate; numerous insects die.

(Encyclopedia Britannica)

17

С. Ю. СТЕПАНОВА. ОСОЗНАННОЕ ЧТЕНИЕ: ТЕКСТЫ И ЗАДАНИЯ ● MINDFUL READING: TEXTS AND TASKS

Text 1.3 B

Winter

Clouded with snow The cold winds blow,

And shrill on leafless bough

The robin with its burning breast Alone sings now.

The rayless sun, Day’s journey done,

Sheds its last ebbing light

On fields in leagues of beauty spread Unearthly white.

Thick draws the dark, And spark by spark,

The frost-fires kindle, and soon Over that sea of frozen foam Floats the white moon.

(by Walter de la Mare)

Text 1. 3 C

Winter Morning Poem

Winter is the king of showmen, Turning tree stumps into snow men And houses into birthday cakes And spreading sugar over lakes. Smooth and clean and frosty white,

The world looks good enough to bite. That’s the season to be young, Catching snowflakes on your tongue. Snow is snowy when it’s snowing, I’m sorry it’s slushy when it’s going.

(by Ogden Nash)

18

PART 1. FICTION VS NON-FICTION

Beyond the text: Cultural aspect

Robin or Red Breast Robin is one of the most popular birds of England. The robin has twice been declared Britain’s national bird, the first time in 1960 and the second time in 2015, but it has not yet been made official. The robin appears on many Christmas postage stamps and cards.

Tasks: Follow the pattern

1)Identify the subject matter of each text and specify its status (fiction or non-fiction, type of the text, functional style).

2)What is its primary function?

3)What features best characterize the given text? (e.g. objective, subjective, precise, coherent, logical, emotional (if you characterize the text as emotional,make sure to‘label’emotions it stirs), fact-based, opinion-based, etc)

4)Characterize the linguistic features of the text, its lexical and syntactical peculiarities.

5)Can you identify any stylistic devices used in the text and comment on their effects?

Section 4: January

Text 1.4A

January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the first of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In many cultures, the first day of January is known as New Year’s Day. January is a winter month in the Northern Hemisphere and a summer month in the Southern Hemisphere. The name January (in Latin, Ianuarius) comes from Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions. This deity was the guardian god of passage, portals, doors and gates, patron of beginnings and endings, so he is shown to have two faces, one in front and the other at the back. The name of this ancient italic deity is related to the word “janitor”, which initially meant a doorkeeper. Some historical names for January include “Wulfmonath”, which came

19

С. Ю. СТЕПАНОВА. ОСОЗНАННОЕ ЧТЕНИЕ: ТЕКСТЫ И ЗАДАНИЯ ● MINDFUL READING: TEXTS AND TASKS

from the Anglo-Saxons because it was the month when hungry wolves would come scavenging. January has two zodiac signs – Capricorn, which is until January 19, and Aquarius, which is for the rest of the month.

Text 1.4B

The days are short, The sun a spark, Hung thin between The dark and dark. Fat snowy footsteps Track the floor. Milk bottles burst Outside the door. The river is

A frozen place Held still beneath

The trees’ black lace. The sky is low.

The wind is gray. The radiator Purrs all day.

(by John Updike)

Food for thought

The poem ‘January’ is taken from A Child’s Calendar – a collection of twelve simple poems, one for each month. It was first published in 1965; however, when it was printed out in 1999, lines 7-8 were replaced with the following lines: And parkas pile up / Near the door. How can you explain this change?

Tasks: Follow the pattern

1.Identify the subject matter of each text and specify its status (fiction or non-fiction, type of the text, functional style).

2.What is its primary function?

20