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Файл:Соединенные Штаты Америки. Учебное пособие
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III. Paraphrase the following sentences using the active
vocabulary:
1. I’m really grateful to you for your work and would like to
reward you.
2. The competition between two top-rated tennis players in the
world attracted thousands of fans.
3. He plans to compete for the world heavyweight title again next
year.
4. Do you know any party fun activities?
5. They didn’t pass their English exam.
6. The war seems almost impossible to prevent.
7. He is an ardent supporter of any TV program.
8. Jack refused to act according to the rules and was sure to make
a mistake.
9. We decided to unite all our forces in order to finish our
research project.
10. If they don’t stop arguing, a real scandal will be unavoidable.
11. Kevin is an ardent supporter of baseball and never misses any
competition.
12. I tried to listen to the professor very attentively, but still I
couldn’t see the point.
13. My cousin Sam is absolutely unmanageable — now he’s going
to take his math exam, but his professor is sure to give him a
bad grade.
14. The Chicago Cubs are a legend — they have been trying to
take part in the final for 17 years.
15. Listening to jazz is his greatest passion.
16. I’ve always liked this person for his eager desire to study
English.
17. We should make a group of people now to work on the project.
18. I think t
his will really happen if you don’t do anything.
IV. Translate the following sentences into English paying
attention to the active vocabulary:
1. Как насчет партии в шахматы?
2. Они объединились, чтобы вместе написать книгу.
3. Она пристрастилась к игре в гольф.
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4. Джим должен был состязаться с лучшими бегунами мира
во время Олимпийских игр.
5. Он сделал это в знак признательности за нашу помощь.
6. Я люблю смотреть футбольные матчи.
7. Как писатель он полный неудачник.
8. Я прохожу курс, где обучают базовым компьютерным
навыкам.
9. Ее отец умер от сердечной недостаточности.
10. Ты знаеш
команде?
11. Мальчик помешан на компьютерных играх — из-за своего
пристрастия он почти никогда не выходит из комнаты.
12. Мотор ракеты отказал за несколько секунд до взлета.
13. Он большой поклонник Мадонны.
14. Буду благодарна, если ты прикроешь окно.
15. Когда цена на нефть уд
развалились.
16. Мария почувствовала, что провал неизбежен.
17. Дэн — искусный гитарист.
18. Группа ученых проводит исследование по межкультурной
коммуникации.
19. Во время соревнования болельщики громко подбадривали
свою команду.
20. Я сделал это не в одиночку, это результат общих усилий.
TEXT 2
ь, что Мэгги состоит в школьной хоккейной
воилась, многие предприятия
THE SPORTING LIFE
We have a friend, a single mum, whose six-year-old son recently
signed up to play ice hockey, a sport taken very seriously here.
At the first team meeting, one of the other parents announced that he
had devised a formula for determining how much each child would
play. Essentially the best seven players would play 80 per cent of each
game, and the remaining, more hopeless kids would divide up whatever
time was left — so long, of course, as victory was not in doubt.
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‘I think that’s the most fair way of doing it,’ he said to solemn nods
from the other dads.
Our friend stood up and suggested that a more fair approach might
be to let all the children play equally.
‘But then they wouldn’t win,’ said the father, looking half aghast.
‘Yes,’ agreed our friend. ‘So?’
‘But what’s the point in playing if you don’t win?’
These were, let me remind you, six-year-olds. There isn’t space
here to discuss all the things that have gone wrong with sport in
America, at nearly every level, so let me just cite a few examples to
give you an idea of how America approaches competitive pursuits
these days.
Item: In an effort to improve our standings in the medals tables
(which is, of course, the most important thing in the universe), U.S.
swimmers were paid up to $65,000 from official sources for every
medal they won at the last Olympics. Apparently, representing one’s
nation and doing one’s best are no longer sufficient incentives.
Item: To delight the home fans and enhance their positions in the
national rankings, the largest college football teams now regularly
schedule matches against hopelessly inadequate opponents. In one
especially proud moment for sport last season, the University of
Florida, ranked number two in the nation, played with little Central
Michigan University, and won by a score of 82 to 6.
Item: In order to watch 60 minutes of football on this year’s Super
Bowl on television, it was necessary to sit through 113 commercials.
(I counted.)
Item: The average cost for a family of four to go to a Major League
baseball game now is over $200.
I mention all this not to make the point that commercial overkill
and blunted sportsmanship have taken much of the joy out of sport in
this country, though they have, but to explain why I love Dartmouth
College basketball games so much.
Dartmouth is the local university and it is in the Ivy League, a
confederation of eight venerable and brainy institutions — Harvard,
Yale, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, Penn, Cornell and Dartmouth.
These kids go to Ivy League schools because they are going to
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become rocket scientists and professors, not because they are going to
make $12 million a year playing professional basketball. They play
for the love of the game, the camaraderie, the thrill of taking part —
all those things that we have mostly lost in this country.
I first went to a game three winters ago, when I saw a schedule in a
shop window in town and noticed that the season opener was that
night. I hadn’t been to a basketball game in twenty years.
‘Hey, Dartmouth’s got a game tonight,’ I announced in excitement
when I got home. ‘Who’s coming?’
Five faces looked at me with an expression I hadn’t seen since I
suggested we go camping in Slovenia for our next holiday. ‘OK, I’ll
go on my own,’ I sniffed, though in the end my youngest daughter,
then eleven, took pity and accompanied me.
Well, we had a wonderful time. Dartmouth won a nail-biter, and my
daughter and I came home gabbling. Now everyone wanted to come.
But here’s the thing. We wouldn’t let them. This was our little thing.
Since then, for three seasons, going to Dartmouth games has
become a ritual for my daughter and me. Everything about it is
splendid. The arena where the team plays is an easy walk from our
house. Tickets are cheap, and the crowds are small, friendly and loyal.
A band plays perky tunes. Afterwards we emerge into the wintry night
air and walk home chatting. It is because of these walks that I know
the identities of the Spice Girls and that Matthew Perry is so cute it’s
like almost not real. When there is not the slightest chance that a
living person might see, she sometimes takes my hand. It’s perfect.
But at the heart of it is the game. For two hours we shout and
wince and rend our hair, and become wholly absorbed with the hope
that our boys can put a ball through a hoop more times than their boys.
If Dartmouth win, we are elated. If they don’t — well, no matter. It’s
just a game. This is the way sport should be.
One of the Dartmouth players last year was a 7-foot giant named
Chris, who had all the attributes of greatness except, alas, an ability to
play basketball. In consequence he spent nearly the whole of his
career on the low end of the bench. Very occasionally, he would be
put in for the last 15 or 20 seconds of a game. Invariably on these
occasions someone would pass him the ball and someone smaller
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would come and take it away. He would shake his head regretfully,
then lope giraffe-like to the other end of the court. He was our
favourite player.
By tradition, the last game of the season is parents’ night, when
parents fly in from all over to watch their sons play. Also by tradition,
on the last home game the graduating seniors are put in to start.
This particular game was of no consequence, but news of that
seemed not to have reached our hero. He came onto the court with an
intense psyched-up look. This was his first and last chance to shine
and he wasn’t going to blow it.
The referee blew the whistle to start the game. Our Chris ran up
and down the court four or five times and then, to our dismay and his,
was taken out and returned to the bench. He had played no more than
a minute or so. He hadn’t done a thing wrong — hadn’t had a chance
to do a thing wrong. He took his customary seat, cast his parents an
apologetic look and watched the rest of the game through eyes welled
with tears. Someone had forgotten to tell the coach that winning isn’t
everything.
This week Dartmouth has its last home game of the season. This
year, I believe, there are two players who will be allowed to run
gamely up and down the court for a token minute or two, and will then
be replaced by abler hands.
My daughter and I have decided to skip this one. When perfection
is so difficult to find, it’s hard to see it spoiled.
CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS
basketball
Brown
Columbia
commercial
Cornell
Dartmouth
Harvard
Ivy League
Major League
Penn
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Princeton
Spice Girls
Super Bowl
Yale
COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. Answer the questions:
1. In what way did the parents suggest determining how much
time each six-year-old should play ice hockey?
2. What does the author think has gone wrong with sport in
America?
3. How much were U.S. swimmers paid for every medal they
won at the last Olympics?
4. Why do the largest college football teams now regularly
schedule matches against weak opponents?
5. How many commercials should an American TV spectator
watch per one hour of football?
6. How much should a family of four pay to go to a Major
League baseball game?
7. What, according to the author, has taken much of the joy out of
sport in the U.S.?
8. What is the Ivy League?
9. How did the author’s family members react when he suggested
going to a basketball game at Dartmouth?
10. What did the author and his daughter like about Dartmouth
games?
11. Who was their favorite player? Describe him.
12. What disappointed them during the last game of the season?
2. Explain what is meant in the phrases below:
1. “To delight the home fans and enhance their positions in the
national rankings, the largest college football teams now regularly
schedule matches against hopelessly inadequate opponents.”
3. “… commercial overkill and blunted sportsmanship have taken
much of the joy out of sport in this country…”
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4. “They play for the love of the game, the camaraderie, the thrill
of taking part.”
5. “Dartmouth won a nail-biter, and my daughter and I came home
gabbling.”
6. “When there is not the slightest chance that a living person
might see, she sometimes takes my hand.”
7. “When perfection is so difficult to find, it’s hard to see it
spoiled.”
ACTIVE VOCABULARY
sport n — 1. sports [pl cf. BrE sport] activity that you do for pleasure
and that needs physical effort or skill; usu. done in a special area
and according to fixed rules: There are excellent facilities for
sports and recreation. 2. a particular form of sport: What’s your
favorite sport?
sporting (adj) — connected with sports: a major sporting event.
fair adj — 1. free from injustice, dishonesty, or self-interest; treating
everyone equally and according to the rules or law: You must be
fair to both sides. Antonym: unfair. 2. acceptable and appropriate
in a particular situation: a fair deal / wage / price / question. She
has a fair-sized apartment. 3. light in color: a fair complexion.
competitive adj — 1. used to describe a situation in which people or
organizations compete against each other: competitive
games / sports. 2. as good as or better than others: a shop selling
clothes at competitive prices.
incentive n — something that encourages one to greater activity: His
interest gave me an incentive and I worked twice as hard.
schedule n — 1. a plan that lists all the work that you have to do and
when you must do each thing: I have a hectic schedule for the next
few days. 2. AmE = timetable: a train schedule. 3. a list of the
television and radio programs that are on a particular channel and
the times that they start: The channel’s schedules are filled with old
films. 4. a written list of things, for example prices, rates or
conditions: tax schedule.
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adequate adj — 1. (for) enough for the purpose: The supply of food is
not adequate. 2. having the necessary qualities: I’m sure she’ll
prove adequate for the job. He didn’t give an adequate answer at
the exam. 3. only just good enough: The play is adequate, but not
exciting. . Antonym: inadequate.
opponent n — 1. a person that you are playing or fighting against in a
game, competition, argument, etc.: a political opponent; a
dangerous / worthy opponent. 2. a person who is against something
and tries to change or stop it: opponents of abortion; opponents of
the regime.
player n — 1. a person who takes part in a game or sport: a
tennis / rugby / chess, etc. player; a game for four players. 2. a
machine for reproducing sound or pictures that have been recorded
on CDs, DVDs etc.: a CD / DVD / cassette / record player.
to coach v –1. to train somebody to play a sport, to do a job better, or to
improve a skill: Her father coached her for the Olympics. 2. to give
somebody special instructions for what they should do or say in a
particular situation: Ms. Brown coaches people for English exams.
cute adj — 1. pretty and attractive: a cute little baby. 2. [informal,
AmE] clever, sometimes in an annoying way because a person is
trying to get an advantage for him or herself: She had a really cute
idea. Don’t get cute with me!
ASSIGNMENTS
I. Translate into Russian:
1. You have to be highly competitive to do well in sport these days.
2. I buy you lunch and you fix my computer. Is that a fair
exchange?
3. Applicants are selected for jobs on the results of a competitive
examination.
4. We are behind schedule.
5. This sport demands both strength and speed.
6. Blue suited her fair complexion.
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7. I needed to accommodate to the new schedule.
8. Barbara has got a very competitive nature.
9. He is widely acknowledged as the best player in the world.
10. Is ski jumping an Olympic sport?
11. He knocked his opponent down three times in the first round.
12. He did not receive a fair trial.
13. When we take our vacations is very much dictated by Greg’s
work schedule.
14. I always stop at that mall; the prices are very competitive.
15. Never underestimate your opponent.
16. She and her sister are always competing for attention.
17. The president has a tight schedule today.
18. I’m going to buy either a camera or a DVD player with the
money.
19. You should know he is a dangerous political opponent.
20. Adam was inadequate for the task.
21. Buses are running a few minutes behind schedule this evening.
22. I need to get some private coaching in Chinese.
23. He is the best soccer coach I’ve ever met.
24. The promise of a bonus became an incentive to double our
efforts.
25. Do you think it’s an adequate exchange?
26. Your baby daughter is so cute!
II. Paraphrase the sentences using the active vocabulary:
1. I admire my sister’s achievements connected with sports.
2. “It’s not honest,” she complained.
3. There may be some minor changes to the plan that lists all the
work.
4. It’s the same old story of a badly managed project with not
enough funding.
5. Her hair is very light and long.
6. It was a remarkable achievement for such a young person
involved in the game.
7. The fun of the game lies in trying to guess what your partner
(competitor) is thinking.
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8. The person who trained the team singled out two players for a
special praise.
9. At this store clothes are sold at prices that are as low as in
other stores.
10. It’s not honest! He always gets more than me.
11. It’s only appropriate to add that they were not told about the
problem until the last minute.
III. Translate into English:
1. Я не интересуюсь спортом.
2. Честно ли просить его сделать всю работу?
3. Выпускникам приходится бороться за рабочие места на
высококонкурентном рынке.
4. Мы работаем в плотном графике.
5. Школьникам предоставляется широкий выбор спортивных
мероприятий.
6. Несправедливо по отношению к пассажирам так часто
менять расписание поездов.
7. У людей нет стиму
8. Если быть честным, она вела себя лучше, чем я ожидал.
9. Новый мост был завершен за 2 года до планируемого
срока.
10. Он тренирует баскетболистов и футболистов.
11. Так нечестно! Он всегда получает больше, чем я.
12. На следующий год китайский язык будет в школьном
расписании.
13. Нака
14. Запасов еды недостаточно, чтобы удовлетворить нужды
15. Мы должны быть справедливы к обоим игрокам.
16. Она обучила сотни молодых певцов.
17. Нам нужно работать усерднее, чтобы конкурировать с
зание было очень справедливым.
голодающих.
другими компаниями.
ла экономить воду.
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