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Файл:Соединенные Штаты Америки. Учебное пособие
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READING
Get ready to read the text aloud in class. Make sure you know
the pronunciation of all the words. Express the meaning of each
sentence clearly.
COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. What associations does the author have with the Thanksgiving
Day?
2. What does he say about his mother’s experience in the
kitchen? What tone of narration does he use describing his
mother’s abilities to cook?
3. Why wasn’t Mr. Bryson’s mother concerned about cooking?
4. What was his father’s idea of an ideal meal? Why is the word
“unidentifiable” repeated several times in the paragraph
referring to Bill Bryson’s father?
5. What kind of man was his father?
6. Why was he satisfied with his wife’s cooking?
7. Why was Thanksgiving regarded as a most special occasion by
the Brysons family?
8. What kind of meal was served on that day in the author’s
family?
9. Describe Thanksgiving as a historic event. What information
about its origin did you learn?
10. What are the advantages of Thanksgiving in comparison with
other holidays according to the author?
11. How do Americans celebrate it?
12. What things is the author grateful for?
13. What are the downsides of Thanksgiving, in Mr. Bryson’s
opinion? Why?
ACTIVE VOCABULARY
cheerful adj — 1. happy and showing it by the way you behave: a
cheerful, hard-working employee; a cheerful smile / voice.
2. giving you a feeling of happiness: a bright, cheerful restaurant;
walls painted in cheerful (= light and bright) colors; a chatty,
cheerful letter.
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absent-minded adj — tending to forget things, perhaps because you
are not thinking about what is around you, but about something
else. Synonym: forgetful.
to confuse v — 1. to make somebody unable to think clearly or
understand something: They confused me with conflicting accounts
of what happened. 2. to think wrongly that somebody/something is
somebody/something else. Synonym: mix up: People often confuse
me and my twin sister.
confusion n — (about / over something/ as to something) a feeling
of embarrassment when you do not understand something and are
not sure what to do in a situation: He looked at me in confusion
and did not answer the question.
on top of this — in addition to something: He gets commission on top
of his salary.
cinnamon n — the inner bark of an Asian tree, used in cooking as a
spice, esp. to give flavor to sweet foods.
vinegar n — a liquid with a bitter taste made from malt (= a type of
grain) or wine, used to add flavor to food or to preserve it:
malt / wine vinegar; onions pickled in vinegar.
household appliances — machines that are designed to do a
particular thing in the home, such as preparing food, heating or
cleaning.
a rule of thumb — [idiom] a practical method of doing or measuring
something, usu. based on past experience rather than on exact
measurement or knowledge.
ketchup n — a thick cold sauce made from tomatoes, usu. sold in
bottles.
to be wasted on somebody — to give, say, use, etc. something good
where it is not valued or used in the way that it should be: Your
sympathy is wasted on him — he doesn’t deserve it.
to pull out all the stops — [idiom, informal] to make the greatest
effort possible to achieve something.
92
to outdo somebody — to do more or better than somebody else.
Synonym: to beat: Sometimes small firms can outdo big business
when it comes to customer care.
mashed potatoes n — potatoes that have been boiled and crushed into
a soft mass, often with butter and milk.
greeting card n — a card with a picture on the front and a message
inside that you send to somebody on a particular occasion such as
their birthday.
grateful adj — feeling or showing thanks because somebody has done
something kind for you or has done as you asked: I am extremely
grateful to all the teachers for their help.
gratitude n — the feeling of being grateful and wanting to express
your thanks: He smiled at them with gratitude; a deep sense of
gratitude. Antonym: ingratitude.
festive adj — typical of a special event or celebration; connected with
the period when people celebrate Christmas: the festive
season / period; festive decorations.
ASSIGNMENTS
I. Translate into Russian:
1. You’re not your usual cheerful self today.
2. Why are professors stereotyped as absent-minded?
3. To avoid confusion, please write the children’s names clearly
on all their school clothes.
4. What kind of dressing would you like with the salad?
5. We would be grateful for your cooperation in clearing the hall
as quickly as possible.
6. She’s had a lot of problems since her husband died, but she
seems quite cheerful, all things considered.
7. This room would look more cheerful for a spot of paint.
8. Don’t give me so much information — you’re confusing me.
9. She was presented with the gift in gratitude for her long
service.
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10. In our house, as a rule of thumb, the last person to finish dinner
has to wash dishes.
11. On top of everything else, my car’s been stolen.
12. They sell a wide range of domestic appliances — washing
machines, dishwashers, and so on.
13. I was grateful for her wise counsel.
14. There is some confusion about what the correct procedure
should be.
15. Would you like ketchup with your fries?
16. The Browns built a big swimming pool in their back garden
and, not to be outdone, their neighbors built an even bigger
one.
17. Our family is obsessed with spices such as ginger and
cinnamon.
18. She seems to think I should be grateful to have a job at all.
19. Her comments were not wasted on Chris (= he understood
what she meant).
20. She finally agreed on two scoops of mashed potatoes as a side
order.
21. The announcement only succeeded in creating confusion.
22. I tried to clear the confusion that was fogging my brain.
23. There followed a long period of confusion and muddle.
24. He was grateful that she didn’t tell his parents about the
incident.
25. Bill pulled out all the stops to complete the work on time.
26. I owe you a great debt of gratitude (= feel extremely grateful).
27. I’ll have a steak with a side order of French fries.
II. Paraphrase using the active vocabulary:
1. He felt homesick, but made a brave attempt to appear happy.
2. Be careful not to mix up quantity with quality.
3. Don’t misunderstand me — I am thankful for all you’ve done.
4. Jim made the greatest effort possible, but couldn’t finish the
work before the deadline.
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5. He needed lots of strength to do better than his opponent.
6. The mother’s advice was not valued by her son as it should
have been.
7. In addition to his dismissal, Dave fell ill.
III. Below are words from the active, each followed by a group
of synonyms and antonyms. Decide which is a synonym and which
is an antonym referring to the context the word is used in:
cheerful: bright, jolly, gloomy, merry, in a good mood, moody,
joyous, inspired, satisfied, sad, in low spirits
to confuse: to disconcert, to bewilder, to unsettle, to arrange
grateful: thankful, unappreciative
IV. Translate from Russian into English:
1. Почему ты сегодня такой довольный и веселый?
2. Мы были в полном недоумении из-за новостей.
3. Праздничные украшения ассоциируются с Рождеством и
Новым годом.
4. Кейт одарила его благодарной улыбкой.
5. Никогда не догадаешься, что у нее проблемы. Она всегда
такая веселая.
6. Мы были бы благодарны за любую и
вы можете нам предоставить.
7. Он на удивление радостный, даже принимая во внимание
то, через что ему пришлось пройти.
8. Игристое вино легко спутать с шампанским.
9. Я буду вечно благодарен вам за это.
10. Бесполезно тратить время и силы на ученика, который не
хочет учиться.
11. Можно мне зака
бифштексу?
12. Я бы хотел выразить благодарность всем за большую
работу.
зать картофельное пюре как гарнир к
нформацию, которую
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13. Мэгги превзошла Джима в плавании и беге.
14. Известно, что он сильный соперник; чтобы его победить,
тебе придется приложить невероятные усилия.
15. Вдобавок к сломанной в аварии ноге он еще заработал
нервное расстройство.
16. Для нее все твои разговоры — как с гуся вода, так что
можешь не стараться.
17. Как можно быть таким заб
позвонила несколько раз, чтобы напомнить о встрече.
18. Кетчуп и уксус — острые специи, которые делают вкус
любого блюда незабываемым.
19. В этом магазине продаются микроволновки, посудо-
моечные машины и другая техника для дома.
20. Ты послала дедушке поздравительную открытку к Рож-
деству?
TEXT 2
THE MYS
Christmas in Britain is wonderful, far better than Christmas in
America, and for all kinds of reasons. To begin with, in Britain — or
at least in England — you still pretty much pack all your festive
excesses (eating, drinking, gift-giving, more eating and drinking) into
Christmas, whereas we in America spread ours out over three separate
holidays.
In America, the big eating holiday is Thanksgiving, at the end of
November. Thanksgiving is a great holiday — probably the very best
holiday in America, if you ask me. (In case you’ve always wondered,
it commemorates the first harvest feast at which the pilgrims sat down
with the Indians to thank them for all their help and tell them, ‘Oh,
and by the way, we’ve decided we want the whole country.’) It is a
great holiday because you don’t have to give gifts or send cards or do
anything but eat until you begin to look like a balloon.
The trouble is that it comes less than a month before Christmas. So
when on 25 December Mom brings out another turkey, you don’t go,
TERIES OF CHRISTMAS
ывчивым? Я же специально
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‘Turkey! YIPPEEE!’ but rather, ‘Ah, turkey again is it, Mother?’
Under such an arrangement Christmas dinner is bound to come as an
anticlimax.
Also, Americans don’t drink much at Christmas, as a rule.
Americans save their large-scale drinking for New Year’s Eve.
Nor, come to that, do we have many of the standard features of
Christmas that you take for granted. There are no Christmas
pantomimes in America. No mince pies and hardly any Christmas
puddings. There’s no bellringing on Christmas Eve. No crackers. No
brandy butter. No little dishes full of nuts. No hearing ‘Merry Xmas
Everybody’ by Slade at least once every twenty minutes. Above all,
there is no Boxing Day.
On 26 December, everybody in the United States goes back to
work. In fact, Christmas pretty well ends about midday on 25
December. There’s nothing special on TV, and most large stores and
shopping malls now open for the afternoon (so that people can
exchange all the things they got but didn’t want). You can go to the
movies on Christmas Day in America. You can go bowling. It doesn’t
seem right somehow.
As for Boxing Day, most people in America have never heard of it,
or at best have only the vaguest idea of what it is. It may surprise you
to hear, incidentally, that Boxing Day is actually quite a modern
invention. The Oxford English Dictionary can trace the term back no
further than 1849. Its roots go back at least to medieval times, when it
was the custom to break open church alms boxes at Christmas and
distribute the contents to the poor, but as a holiday Boxing Day only
dates from the last century, which explains why you have it and we
don’t.
Personally, I much prefer Boxing Day to Christmas, largely
because it has all the advantages of Christmas (lots of food and drink,
general good will towards all, a chance to doze in an armchair during
daylight hours) without any of the disadvantages like spending hours
on the floor trying to assemble doll’s houses and bicycles from
instructions written in Taiwan or the uttering of false professions of
gratitude to Aunt Gladys for a hand-knitted jumper (‘No honestly,
97
Glad, I’ve been looking everywhere for a jumper with a unicorn
motif.’) No, if there is one thing I miss from England it’s Boxing Day.
That and of course hearing ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ by Slade over
and over. Apart from anything else, it makes you appreciate the rest of
the year so much more.
NOTE
Pay attention to the difference in the following British and
American terms:
AmE jumper — сарафан, который обычно носят поверх блузки
cf. BrE jumper — джемпер (=AmE sweater)
AmE mom cf. BrE mum — разг. мама
AmE movie cf. BrE film — кинофильм
AmE movie house/ movie theater cf. BrE cinema — кинотеатр
AmE movie star cf. BrE film star — кинозвезда
CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS
Look up the following entries in the Dictionary of U. S. Life and
Culture (Жизнь и культура США: Лингвострановедческий
словарь) or other dictionaries and encyclopedias:
Boxing Day
brandy butter
Christmas pudding
Christmas/Xmas
cracker
Indian
mall/shopping mall
mince pie
New Year’s Eve
pilgrim
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COMPREHENTION CHECK
1. What holidays does the author make reference to in the story?
2. Which of them are shared by the British and American
cultures?
3. Which of them are purely British and purely American?
4. What does the author say about the differences in the way
British and American Christmas is celebrated?
5. What’s the author’s attitude towards British and American
Christmas? Which of the two does he prefer and why?
6. Explain the final phrase of the text: “Apart from anything else,
it makes you appreciate the rest of the year so much more.”
ACTIVE VOCABULARY
to commemorate v — 1. to serve as a memorial of. 2. to honor the
memory of by some observance.
commemoration: a religious service in commemoration of the
heroes.
vague adj — 1. not clear in shape or form; indistinct: On the hillside,
we could see vague shapes of sheep coming through the mist. 2.
not clearly described, known, or established: vague plans; vague
promises. I don’t have the vaguest idea of who she is. 3. unable to
think or express oneself clearly: She is so vague I can never
understand her.
to take for granted — 1. to assume without questions: I took it for
granted that you’d come with us to the theater, so I bought you a
ticket. 2. to fail to appreciate: He’s so busy with his job that he
takes his family for granted.
to trace back — to find out the roots (origin) of something.
medieval times
medieval adj — of the period in history between about AD 1100
and 1500 (the Middle Ages).
to date to — to guess or decide the date of: The historians have dated
the document to the 1850s.
99
to date from/ to date back to — to have lasted or existed since:
The tradition dates from the 17
th
century. This church dates back to
1173.
advantage n (over) — 1. something that can help one to be successful
or to gain a favorable result: Her experience gave her a big
advantage over other applicants for the job. 2. a favorable
condition: One of the advantages of this method is that it saves a
lot of time. Antonym: disadvantage.
to doze v — to sleep lightly and briefly; nap.
to appreciate v — 1. to recognize and enjoy the good qualities of: She
appreciates good wine. 2. to understand fully, recognize: I
appreciate that this is not an easy decision for you. 3. to be
thankful for: I appreciate your help.
appreciation n: The audience showed their appreciation with loud
cheers.
ASSIGNMENTS
I. Translate into Russian paying attention to the active
vocabulary:
1. A festival was held to commemorate the 400
th
anniversary of
William Shakespeare’s birth.
2. In the darkness Sam saw a vague shape of a man.
3. This memorial commemorates those who died in the war.
4. Don’t take me for granted — I won’t always be by your side.
5. Did the Minister notice that I dozed off in the middle of his
sermon?
6. The child took his mother’s support for granted and was very
upset when she took the father’s side.
7. It was difficult for the doctor to trace back the cause of severe
complications.
8. I don’t think you appreciate the difficulties your behavior will
cause.
9. What are the advantages of living in a big city?
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