Добавил:
ivanov666
Опубликованный материал нарушает ваши авторские права? Сообщите нам.
Вуз:
Предмет:
Файл:A guide to effective communication in English. Учебное пособие по практике устной и письменной речи английского языка
.pdf
poetry, he read books by Karl Marx. He did not understand what he was reading
but he wanted to know. He had become interested in economy, industry and
politics. He sat up in bed and tried to read, but the dictionary was in front of him
more often than the book. He looked up so many new words that when he saw
them again, he had forgotten their meaning and had to look them up again. He
decided to write the words down in a note-book, and filled page after page with
them. And still he could not understand what he was reading. Poetry was not so
difficult. He loved poetry and beauty, and there he found beauty, as he found it
in music.
At last Martin Eden had enough courage to go and see Ruth. She met him
at the door herself and took him into the living-room. They talked first of the
books he had borrowed from her, then of poets. He told her of his plans to
educate himself.
"You should go back and finish grammar school, and then go through the
high school and university," Ruth said.
"But that takes money," he said.
"Oh!" she cried. "I had not thought of that. But then you have relatives,
somebody who could help you?"
He shook his head.
"My father and mother are dead. I've two sisters and some brothers, – I’m
the youngest, – but they never helped anybody. The oldest died in India. Two are
in South Africa now, and another is on a fishing-boat at sea. One is travelling
with a circus. And I think I am just like them. I've taken care of myself since I
was eleven – that's when my mother died. I think I must study by myself, and
what I want to know is where to begin."
"I should say the first thing of all would be to get a grammar. Your
grammar is not particularly good."
91
He got red. «I know I talk a lot of slang. I know words, picked them up
from books, but I cannot say them correctly, so I don't use them."
"It isn't what you say, so much as how you say it. You don't mind my
saying that, do you? I don't want to hurt you."
"No, no," he cried. "Tell me everything. I must know, and I had better hear
it from you than from anybody else."
"Well, then, you say 'You was', it must be 'You were'. You say 'I seen' for
'I saw'."
"That is clear," said Martin. "I never thought of it before."
"You'll find it all in the grammar," she said and went to the bookcase. She
took one of the books from the shelf and gave it to Martin.
Several weeks went by, during which Martin Eden studied his grammar
and read books. During those weeks he saw Ruth five or six times and each time
he learned something. She helped him with his English, corrected his
pronunciation and taught him arithmetic.
[A few months after Martin had started to educate himself, he had to go to
sea again as all his money was spent. He went as a sailor on a ship that was
going to the South Sea.]
The captain of the ship had a complete Shakespeare, which he never
read. Martin had washed his clothes for him and in return was allowed to read
the books. For a time all the world took the form of Shakespearean tragedy or
comedy; even Martin's thoughts were expressed in the language of Shakespeare.
This trained his ear and gave him a feeling for good English.
The eight months were spent well; he learned to understand Shakespeare
and speak correctly, and what was most important, he learned much about
himself. Now he knew that he could do more than he had done. He wanted to
show Ruth the beauty of the South Sea and decided to do it in his letters.
92
And then the great idea came to him. He would describe the beauty of the
world not only for Ruth but for other people as well. He could do it. He would be
one of the eyes through which the world saw, one of the ears through which the
world heard, one of the hearts through which it felt. He would be a writer. He
would write – everything – poetry and prose, novels and descriptions, and plays
like Shakespeare. There was career and the way to win Ruth.
For the first time he saw the aim of his life, and saw it in the middle of the
great sea. Martin decided to begin writing when he comes back. He would
describe the voyage to the South Sea and sell it to some San Francisco
newspaper. He would go on studying, and then, after some time, when he had
learned and prepared himself, he would write great things.
…..
[When Martin Eden returned to San Francisco, he began to write. He sent
his works to newspapers and magazines, but the editors sent his manuscripts
back. Martin continued to write and study at the same time.]
Martin lived in a small room where he slept, studied, wrote and cooked his
meals. Before the window there was the kitchen table that served as desk and
library. The bed occupied two-thirds of the room. Martin slept five hours; only a
man in very good health could work for nineteen hours a day. He never lost a
moment. On the looking-glass were lists of words: when he was shaving or
combing his hair, he learned these words. Some lists were on the wall over the
kitchen table, and he studied them while he was cooking or washing the dishes.
New lists were always put there in place of the old ones. Every new word he met
in his reading was marked and later put down on paper and pinned to the wall
or looking-glass. He even carried them in his pockets and looked them through
in the street or in the shop.
The weeks passed. All Martin's money was spent and publishers continued
to send his manuscripts back. Day by day he worked on and day by day the
93
postman delivered to him his manuscripts. He had no money for stamps, so the
manuscripts lay on the floor under the table. Martin pawned his overcoat, then
his watch.
One morning the postman brought him a short thin envelope. There was
no manuscript in that envelope, therefore, Martin thought, they had taken the
story. It was "The Ring of Bells". In the letter the editor of a San Francisco
magazine said that the story was good. They would pay the author five dollars f
or it. And he would receive the check when the story was published.
Martin thought that five dollars for thousand words was very little. After a
few weeks the story was published but the check did not arrive. Martin wrote to
the editor asking him for the money. But when answering his letter the editor
asked for more of his works and did not send any money.
(The adapted variant of the original text by J. London from “English
Reader” (compiled by M.A. Borovik, E.G. Kopyl), M., 1981)
1) Translate from Russian into English and from English into Russian.
Быть ровней, книги по философии, записывать слова в блокнот,
набраться храбрости, рукопись, почтовые марки, to have a complete
Shakespeare, a feeling for good English, to mark, publishers, to pawn.
2) Answer the Questions:
- What were Martin’s mistakes in speech?
- Why couldn’t Martin understand most of books he tried to read? What
type of books did he like most of all? Why?
- Which learning strategies did the young man use? Were they effective for
Martin? Are they effective at all? Have you ever used some of them?
- How did Shakespeare influence Martin?
- Which idea occurred to Martin in the middle of the great sea?
94
- What were Martin’s first steps in the world of literary activity? What
difficulties did he have to overcome?
3) Explain how you understand the expressions:
To make a career for himself, heavy reading, required years of preparatory
work, trained his ear, a feeling for good English.
4) Expand on the statements, write down your reflections.
- Martin and Ruth were a complete opposite.
- Love can change a person’s life greatly.
- The way Martin understood “self-education”. Is self education popular
nowadays? Find examples of great people who educated themselves. Is it
important to be an educated person or is this personal quality just optional?
- Martin’s future was likely to be successful / ambiguous.
MODULE 4. WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Map of the module
Unit/ Topic Vocabulary Reading Speaking Listening Writing
Unit 1.
Seasons and
weather.
Natural
phenomena.
Unit 2.
Your
favourite
seasons.
Advantages
and
Essential
vocabulary:
Climate,
Weather,
Natural
Phenomena.
Set
expressions
and proverbs.
Text. Weird
weather
facts.
Discussion.
The weather
in everyday
speech:
Minidialogues.
Discussion.
Speaking on
the topic.
Speaking on
the topic.
Situational
dialogues.
Text. The
experiences
of people
struck by
lightning
Translation
Transcribing.
Writing
definitions.
Word-
formation.
skills.
Writing
descriptions.
95
disadvantages.
climate zones.
Unit 3.
Weather in
different
Russia. Great
Britain.
Weather
forecasts
Module
Assessment
Synonyms.
Antonyms.
Text 1.
Weather in
Britain.
Text 2.
Weather in
Russia.
Selfcheck test
Discussion.
Speaking on
the topic.
Situational
dialogues.
Project 1.
Climate and
geography.
Project 2. A
wind of
change.
Text 1.
Weather
descriptions
of people
from
different
countries.
Text 2.
Weather
forecasts.
Text 3.
Holiday
plans
connected
with the
weather.
Translation
Vocabulary
tests.
Test on
synonyms
and
antonyms.
skills.
Illustration of
proverbs.
Reproduction
of stories (EE).
Essential vocabulary
Climate: damp/ humid, dry/ arid, mild, continental, insular, oceanic, tropical,
subtropical, temperate/ moderate.
Weather: fine, fair/ clear, nice, splendid, glorious, calm/ still, dull, wet, nasty,
close, oppressive, cold, chilly, cool, changeable, unsettled, beastly, wretched, a
spell of nasty weather, weather forecast/ report, to forecast/ to report the weather,
a weatherman/ meteorologist.
Temperature: degree, above zero, below zero / …degrees of frost, to fall/ to go
down, to rise/ to go up, Celsius /C/, Fahrenheit /F/, in the shade / in the sun.
96
The sun: to rise, to set, sunny, sunset, at sunset, sunrise, at sunrise, sunray,
sunshine, to lie in the sun/ to get tanned/ to get sunburnt/ to bathe in the sun,
dawn, at dawn, dusk/ twilight, heat, unbearable/ oppressive.
Wind: to blow, to fall, to lift, fresh, light, strong, storm, stormy, a gust/ a blast of
wind, breeze, hurricane, squall, tempest, a breath of wind, dust, dusty.
Fog: dense/ thick fog, in the fog, pea-soup fog, fog clears up / lifts, haze, hazy,
mist, misty, mist rises. Haze suggests a light veil in the air caused by smoke or
vapour; mist always suggests moisture; and fog is a thick mist, a cloud extended
immediately above the surface of the ground.
Rain: to rain, rain /n. – uncountable/, to drizzle, to pour, light rain, heavy rain, to
rain heavily / hard, a shower, a drizzle, a downpour, a cloudburst, a puddle/ a
pool, rainy, a rainbow, to rain cats and dogs, thunder, a clap/ a peal/ a roll of
thunder, a thunderstorm, to be overtaken by/ caught in a thunderstorm, it is
thundering, to lighten, it is lightening, lightning, to be struck by lightning, a flash
of lightning, cloud, cloudy, to be overcast, hail, hailstorm, sleet, slush, in the rain
(под дождем), into the rain (на дождь), occasional rain.
Snow: to snow (heavily), snowy, snowflake, frost, frosty, hard/ bitter/ severe
frost, to freeze, frozen, slippery, ice, icicles, blizzard, a snowdrift, a snowman, to
make a snowman, to play snowballs, to go skating/ skiing/ sledging, snowfall, a
snowstorm, to have a frost-bitten nose, avalanche, to be snowbound, snowbound
roads; the snow lies deep.
Geography: map (in the map), globe; north – northern, west – western, east –
eastern, south – southern; in the north (south, etc.); to the north of sth; to
populate, population; area, the total area; region; densely populated region;
territory; to border on; a border/ a frontier; land; highland; lowland; tableland;
mountain; a chain of mountains; mountainous; hill; hilly; rock; rocky; plain;
valley; desert; to stretch; ocean; sea, lake; coast/shore; canal/channel; river;
stream; streamlet; swamp; swampy ground; forest (mixed, leaf-bearing); wood;
97
bush; grass; grassy; the taiga; the tundra; natural resources; to occupy; to divide
sth. into sth; to be divided into; to separate; to be separated from sth. by sth.; to
be covered by sth; to be situated; to be located.
Set expressions and proverbs: Every dog has his day. Everything is good in its
season. As seasonable as snow in winter. After rain comes fair weather. Every
cloud has a silver lining. Make hay while the sun shines. It never rains but it
pours. A storm in a teacup. A bolt from the blue. To be in the seventh heaven/
on cloud nine. To be as right as rain. To put the wind up sb. For a rainy day. To
feel a bit under the weather. Rain or Shine! To catch the wind. To see how the
wind blows. Out of season.
Answer the questions.
1. What kind of weather do you love and hate?
2. What countries have continental, oceanic, and Mediterranean climates?
3. What climate zone is Russia located?
4. What is the difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit thermometers? In what
countries are these thermometers used?
5. What natural phenomena modify the climate of a place?
UNIT 1. SEASONS AND WEATHER. NATURAL PHENOMENA
The weather in everyday speech
I wonder what the weather is going to be? What is the weather like today? How
is the weather? What is it like out(doors)? Is it raining out? Is it freezing out?
What’s the weather forecast for tomorrow? What does the thermometer say? Has
it stopped raining?
Fine weather
What splendid weather! What a fine day! I expect we’ll have a fine day! The sun
is coming out. Rather warm, isn’t it? I think it will keep fine. The weather is
98
improving, I should say. It will clear up by and by. We are having a spell of fine
weather.
Rainy weather
It seems a dull day. It’s misty. It doesn’t look very promising but you never
know. I expect we’ll have rain. The sky is overcast. Dark clouds are drifting in
the sky. It looks like rain. It is raining heavily/ hard. It is going to rain. Wait until
the shower is over. It keeps on raining. It is hailing. It is sleeting. The road is
slushy. A storm seems to be coming on. It’s been raining off and on for a week
now. We’ve been having rain for a week now. A sudden gust of wind turned my
umbrella inside out. There was a sudden shower of rain this morning. Did you
feel a spot of rain? This rain won’t last long, it’s only a shower. We had several
showers yesterday. Autumn in London is usually chilly and damp with rain and
drizzle. It was absolutely pouring down. There was a real downpour. In the
Tropics there’s usually torrential rain most days and the roads often get flooded.
Stormy weather
It is thundering. A terrifying clap of thunder frightened us. It keeps on raining.
The lightning struck the building. It’s a good thing we are indoors. That flash
made a zig-zag path. We are in for a thunderstorm. Did you hear that rumble of
thunder? – Yes, I did. It came almost immediately after the flash of lightning. I
heard a sharp clap of thunder, then a few rumbles in the distance. The storm
damaged several houses. We got wet in the thunderstorm. Hailstones battered on
the roof of our car.
Hot weather
We have certainly had a good spell of summer weather this year. A heat wave is
coming on. Hot weather has set in. The air is humid. The heat is stifling /
oppressive. We had a drought last summer, it didn’t rain for six weeks.
Cold (wintry) weather
99
Chilly days soon change to the cold days of winter. The first frost arrives and the
roads become icy. Rain becomes sleet and then snow, at first turning to slush in
the streets, but soon settling, with severe blizzards and snowdrifts. Freezing
weather often continues in the Far North until May or even June, when the
ground starts to thaw and the ice melts again. It’s getting chilly. It’s extremely
cold out. I’m shivering, my teeth are chattering with the cold. Large fluffy
snowflakes are falling to the ground. It is freezing. He got stiff with cold. The
icicles are glittering in the sun. It’s thawing. Look out for the slush and mud
puddles. It’s still very slippery. It’s been a hard winter. But spring is in the air.
Windy weather
There was a gentle breeze on the beach, just enough to cool us. There’s a good
wind today. Fancy going sailing? It’s a very blustery day. The umbrella will just
blow away. There has been a gale warning. There was a hurricane on the way.
Where is the wind from? The wind is blowing from the North. A strong wind is
blowing. How awfully windy it is! The wind is rising.
Reading
1. Have you ever witnessed any unusual natural phenomena? What
extraordinary weather conditions have you ever registered in your life?
2. Read the text and look up the italicized words in the explanatory
dictionary.
Weird weather facts
The study and forecasting of weather is called meteorology because it was
once precisely that – the study of meteors. The idea that meteors were formed in
the sky from various combinations of earth, water, air, and fire, and that they
100
Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]