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Файл:Let’s read!. Учебное пособие по чтению на английском языке
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7. The students of the Open University should attend lectures during the
academic year.
8. All the universities in Britain have the same traditions and general
organization.
9. The students of Polytechnics may work and study at the same time.
10. The universities of Sussex, York and East Anglia are sometimes called
“concrete and glass” universities.
11. Children at the age of fourteen may go to a further education college.
12. There are no overseas students at British universities.
Answer the questions:
1. How many terms are there in the academic year in Britain?
2. How many universities are there in Great Britain?
3. What is necessary to get a place at the university?
4. Who gets grants at the universities?
5. How do the universities differ?
6. What degree does the university graduate get after three years of studying?
7. How many years does it take to get the Master’s Degree and the Doctor’s
Degree?
8. What is an important feature of university work?
9. How old is Oxford University?
10. How old is Cambridge University?
11. How old are the Scottish Universities?
12. When were the Redbrick universities founded?
13. When were the “concrete and glass” universities set up?
14. How many Polytechnics did the Government set up?
15. What degrees do Polytechnics offer?
16. What courses do they offer?
17. What courses do the Colleges of Education provide?
18. What course can the young people follow after leaving school at the age of 16?
19. What is the method of instruction at the Open University?
20. How do the students of the Open University keep in touch with their tutors?
21. Do the Open University students have formal qualification?
22. How many overseas students are there in Britain?
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Text 2
STUDENT’S LIFE IN CAMBRIDGE
Read the text and find out:
At what age young people in Great Britain start their student life?
What the “elevens” is?
The basic way of studying in Cambridge?
How the discipline is kept in Cambridge?
Most young people in Great Britain start life in higher educational institutions
at the age of 18. They prefer to try their independence and usually study far from
their home. Most of them live in a hostel.
Student’s life in Great Britain in this or that way differs from that in our
country. Here is how it flows in Cambridge, one of the oldest universities in England.
The rooms in a hostel have a pleasant outlook over the College gardens and are
well furnished according to the needs of a student. There is even a small gas-stove on
which students can make coffee or tea. It is a popular custom there to invite friends in
the afternoon for tea and hot buttered toast and jam. While having tea they discuss
various problems of their everyday life. The students are free to decorate their rooms
according to their own tastes, so each room reflects the personality of its owner.
11 o’clock is the time for refreshment between lectures known as “elevens”
when students attend little restaurants and teashops for a cup of coffee and a cake.
They drink a great deal of tea and coffee and have a friendly talk there.
The basic way of instruction in Cambridge is tutorial. Every student has a tutor
who plans his work. Each week some students come to see him and he discusses with
them the work, which they have done. Lectures are voluntary. Unlike school most of
students’ work is not done in class but in students’ rooms or in one of the libraries
and each student arranges his timetable according to his purposes and wishes, leaving
time for other activities apart from study.
The students eat their meals in the College dining-hall, a large room with a
long line of tables and a raised platform at the end, on which there is a special table
for the tutors known as the High Table. On the walls one can see the portraits of
famous people — former students of the University. If a student comes late to dinner
or is not correctly dressed, he is punished.
Speaking of punishment, in general the discipline is not strict. The students can
stay out as late as they wish up to midnight, but after 11 o’clock a small sum of
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money is imposed. But if a tutor finds that one of his pupils is staying out late very
often, he will want to know the reason.
Discipline out of college is the responsibility of Proctors appointed by the
University. Each evening a Proctor with two assistants, called “Bulldogs” wanders
around the town. If he sees a student who disobeys the regulation that he must wear a
cap and a gown he will come up to him and ask if he is a member of the University. If
a student runs away in an attempt to escape, the “Bulldogs” chase him, and if they
catch him, they fine him.
The University has over a hundred societies and clubs. Perhaps the most
popular is the Debating Society at which undergraduates debate political and other
questions with famous politicians and writers. Sport is a part of student’s life. The
most popular sport is rowing.
Vocabulary:
independence — независимость, самостоятельность
hostel — общежитие
refreshment — восстановление сил, отдых
tutor — наставник, куратор
voluntary — добровольный
timetable — расписание
to be punished — быть наказанным
punishment — наказание
Text 3
STUDENT’S LIFE
College life — what can sounds more exciting
for a young person? Many people have been
waiting this time since school. Then the schoolleavers shall pass the entrance exams. And
finally, one turns from an applicant into a firstyear student. I did it! I entered; I got in to the
university! Do you remember this feeling? I do.
Студенческая жизнь — что может звучать
более захватывающе для молодого человека?
Многие люди ждали этого момента со
школы. Затем абитуриенты должны сдать
вступительные экзамены. И, наконец,
превращается из поступающего в
первокурсника. Я сделал это! Я прошел, я
попал в университет! Вы помните это
чувство? Я — да.
But just to pass the exams — it’s not quite
enough, because we need to definite our objects
in the life. Which college will be yours? The
Teacher’s Training University? The Medical
University? The Technical University? Or it will
be the Art School? The world is full of
specialties and professions, that’s why everyone
can find something for himself.
Но лишь сдать экзамены — недостаточно,
потому что мы должны определиться в
жизни. Какой колледж для вас?
Педагогический университет? Медицинский
университет? Технический университет? Или
это будет художественная школа? В мире
полно специальностей и профессий, поэтому
каждый может найти что-то для себя.
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Finally, all thoughts are left behind and
everyone has chosen what he liked most. The
first thing every student will face at the first of
September is a teaching staff. How many people
work for the sake of our education: professors,
assistant professors, senior lectures, lectures,
tutors, heads of departments, sub deans and the
dean. What respectable people are they! And
don’t forget about the rector or the vice-rector.
All of them come every day for us.
Наконец, все раздумья остались позади, и
каждый выбрал то, что он любит больше
всего. Первое, с чем каждый студент
столкнется в первое сентября —
преподавательский состав. Сколько людей
работает для нашего образования:
профессора, доценты, старшие
преподаватели, лекторы, кураторы,
заведующие кафедрами, заместители декана
и декан. Насколько уважаемые люди! И не
забывайте о ректоре или проректоре. Все они
приходят каждый день для нас.
Many people think that the university is much
easier to study than school. But it’s a big
mistake. From the very first classes the
avalanche of home assignments falls on us. We
have to keep late hours if we want to manage to
keep pace with the curriculum. But if one
accidental misses something, he has to catch up
instead hanging out with his friends.
Многие люди думают, что в университете
намного легче учиться, чем в школе. Но это
большая ошибка. С самых первых занятий на
нас падает лавина домашних заданий. Мы
должны рано вставать и поздно ложится,
если мы хотим идти в ногу с учебной
программой. Но если человек что-то
случайно пропускает, он должен догонять, а
не тусоваться со своими друзьями.
As for me, my studies keep me busy all day
long. I have 10 hours of English a week, in spite
of many seminars and lectures. My favorite
subjects are history and English, because they
make my brain in fit.
Что касается меня, моя учеба держит меня
занятым целый день. У меня 10 часов
английского в неделю, несмотря на
многочисленные семинары и лекции. Моими
любимыми предметами являются история и
английский язык, потому что они
поддерживают мой мозг в форме.
Then many students start to give up the
education. At first they cease to do their home
work, and then miss classes. Many of these
people drop out of university, but, basically,
they will be expelled. We need to make right
decision and get through this time.
Затем многие студенты начинают
отказываться от образования. Сначала они
перестают выполнять домашние задания, а
затем пропускают занятия. Многие из этих
людей уходят из университета, но, в
основном, их отчислят. Мы должны сделать
правильный выбор и пройти через это время.
But even independently of one’s decision the
examination period comes very soon. Someone
will be crammed; someone will drill till late
night. At that time we almost forget about sweet
dreams because twenty-four hours a day we are
preparing for our exams.
Но, даже независимо от своего решения,
сессия приходит очень скоро. Кто-то будет
переполнен, кто-то будет готовиться до
поздней ночи. В то время мы почти забываем
о сладких снах, потому что двадцать четыре
часа в день мы готовимся к экзаменам.
So, the first session is behind. Everyone is truly
overexcited. It is always the day of smiles and
tears: some may say I have passed, while
someone is going to resist.
Итак, первая сессия позади. Каждый понастоящему взволнован. Это всегда день
улыбок и слез: некоторые могут сказать, что
прошли, а кто-то собирается пересдавать.
65
But it’s just the beginning. The summer session
will be waiting for us, and if everything will be
alright, we will be the sophomores. I always say:
hard to learn, easy in a battle. I firmly believe
that it’s undisputed truth. I wish good luck to
every students.
Но это только начало. Летняя сессия будет
ждать нас, и если все будет хорошо, мы
будем второкурсниками. Я всегда говорю:
тяжело в учении, легко в бою. Я твердо верю,
что это бесспорная истина. Я желаю удачи
всем студентам.
UNIT 10. ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE
Text 1
ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE
English has become a world language. In Shakespeare’s time it was a
“provincial” language of secondary importance with only six million native speakers.
Nowadays English has become the world’s most important language in politics,
science, trade and cultural relations. In a number of speakers (400 million) it is second
only to Chinese. It is the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, of the United States of America, of Australia and New Zealand.
English is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the Republic of South
Africa and the Irish Republic. It is also spoken as a second language by many people in
India, Pakistan, numerous countries in Africa. Even more widely English is studied and
used as a foreign language. In this respect it acquired an international status. It is used
for communication, listening to broadcasts, reading books and newspapers, in
commerce and travel. Half of the world’s scientific literature is in English. English is
associated with technological and economic development and it is the principal
language of international aid. It is the language of automation and computer
technology. It is not only the universal language of international aviation, shipping and
sport. It is to a considerable degree the universal language of literacy and public
communication. It is the major language of diplomacy, and is the most frequently used
language both in the debates in the United Nations and in the general conduct of the
UN business. English has become a world language because of its establishment as a
mother tongue outside England. This exporting of English began in the seventeenth
century with the first settlements in North America. The English had visited America
at different times. But they had never stayed very long. The companies were not
successful. In the year 1606, some English people decided they did not like the way
their king, James the First, was treating them. They formed a group, which they called
the London Company, and made plans to sail for America. The London Company sent
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three ships to America. Above all it is the greatest growth of population in the United
States assisted by massive immigration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that
has given the English language its present standing in the world.
Vocabulary:
native speaker — носитель языка
trade — торговля
numerous — многочисленный
exceed — превышать, превосходить
respect — уважение, отношение
in this respect — в этом отношении
acquire — приобретать
development — развитие
mutual aid — взаимопомощь
literacy — грамотность
frequent — частый
establishment — учреждение, установление
above all — прежде всего
assist — помогать, содействовать
standing — положение, репутация
Read the text again. Point out which sentences correspond to the content of
the text.
1. English has become the world’s language in the course of the last decade.
2. In a number of speakers it is the first language in the world.
3. It is one of the official languages in Canada.
4. English has got an international status because it is widely used as a foreign
language.
5. Many people in different countries of Africa speak English as a second
language.
6. One third of the world’s scientific literature is in English.
7. English is the major language of international aid.
8. French is the principal language for the debates in the United Nations.
9. English has become a world language only because it is widely studied as a
foreign language.
10. It is used only as a foreign language outside Great Britain.
67
Answer the questions:
1. When did English become a world language?
2. In what spheres is English the world’s most important language?
3. Where is it the only one official language?
4. Where is it used as one of the official languages?
5. Where is English spoken as a second language?
6. In what way is it used more widely?
7. Where is English the major language?
8. What is the reason of English becoming a world language?
Text 2
WHY DOES AMERICA SPEAK ONE LANGUAGE?
America was — and is — a melting-pot of peoples and of languages. But why,
given the astonishing diversity of the immigrant arrivals from almost the earliest
days, the country did not become a linguistic jigsaw in which none of the pieces
would fit together. Why didn’t languages compete in those places, where, for
instance, German and English speakers rubbed up against each other? Or what about
simple co-existence? And how was it that the isolated groups, for example, the
Scandinavian countries who settled in remote Minnesota or Nebraska would
eventually make the shift away from their own languages? The simplest answer is
probably the numerical one. By the end of the 18th century there were more than
2 million people of English and Welsh extraction recorded in 16 states. To this must
be added a substantial quantity of Scots-Irish. The total of the other principle
language speakers — German, Dutch and French in the order of their numerical
significance — hardly exceeded 200,000. It was the ratio of English speakers to nonEnglish that counted. The new non-English-speaking immigrants contributed much to
America, including (sometimes) hundreds of terms from their own languages. The
very variety of the immigrant tongues would have helped establish English as the
lingua franca. There was no single rival for supremacy, rather a diverse group of
(mostly) European languages arriving in piecemeal fashion, each of which brought
something to the table but none of which had the desire or capacity to sit at the top
place. Of course, many ethnic and linguistic groups did maintain their identity for a
long time after their arrival, as is shown by the existence of well over 100 Germanlanguage newspapers in mid-19th-century America or the publication of up to a
dozen Yiddish newspapers in 1930s New York. There were isolated groups who
68
preserved their own tongue, as is still the case to an extent with the Amish. But the
literal mobility of American society, from the earliest days of the pioneers trekking
westward to the age of the freeway, has been a powerful counterforce against the
closed community and thus the long-term preservation of any language other than
English. More important than mobility, perhaps, was the aspirational nature of the
new society, later to be formalized and glamourized in phrases like the “American
Dream”. Success was achievable not so much as a prize for conformity but for
adaptation to challenging new conditions, among which would be acquiring enough
of the dominant language to get by — before getting ahead.
Vocabulary:
diversity — разнообразие
arrival — прибытие
co-existence — сосуществование
settle — поселяться
eventually — cо временем
shift — cдвиг, изменение, перемещение
numerical — численный, числовой
substantial — значительный
significance — значение
ratio — отношение, соотношение
count — иметь значение
lingua franca — язык межъязыкового общения
supremacy — господство, превосходство
piecemeal — по частям
maintain — поддерживать, сохранять, продолжать
trek — совершать длительный поход, переход
Answer the questions:
1. What made America the melting pot of languages?
2. What countries contributed to the prevailence of the English language in
America?
3. In what way did immigrant tongues exist in America?
4. What did literal mobility result in?
5. What did challenging to new conditions bring to?
6. How can the phrase the “American Dream” be explained?
69
Text 3
WHAT ARE THE REASONS
FOR LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGES?
There are very many good reasons to learn other languages. Very little clear,
detailed communication can occur between people who don’t have a common
language. Learning the languages of others helps in talking to people, reading and
writing things, and in understanding the TV and films from other countries, and
opens up much a wider range of sources of information. When traveling and when
you want to see the world you can manage a lot better if you understand the signs
around you, and if when you meet people and want to ask questions, if you can speak
to them in their own language, they’re often a lot more friendly and helpful than if
your first question is: “Do you speak English?” If you are working in the field where
interesting things are happening abroad, like science, business or medicine, and you
want to be up-to-date with progress in that field, you can’t always wait for the latest
reports to be translated into your own language, as this often doesn’t happen for some
time, especially if you speak a language like Hungarian, where there are only a
limited number of translators, who are often expensive, and so only selected
information is translated. It’s very valuable and helpful in learning languages if you
start from an early age. Many people can learn the best up to about the age of 20, as
they have a lot of time for it which later, with family and work, often isn’t possible.
Somebody thinks that learning a language after the age of twenty or so needs a lot of
enthusiasm, and more time, as the learning process is generally a little slower for
older people than for people with young impressionable minds. After twenty, it’s
very difficult to learn more languages if you’ve not already learnt one before, as it’s a
special way of learning. It’s not like learning math or science — instead it involves a
different way of thinking. You have to learn to think in another language. This is like
music, maybe. You have to learn how to learn another language as well as learning
the grammar and vocabulary involved, so if you’ve learnt one extra language already,
it’s easier to learn more. I think that for many multilingual people, the second
language is a lot easier than the first. The learning process really starts to work when
you feel that it’s important and that you have a reason to learn it — if you can find
the language useful, not just part of school curriculum. For example, if you learn
English and you are confronted with it on the radio, on TV, and if you listen to music
with English words.
Give an answer to this question:
What are the reasons for learning foreign languages?
70
UNIT 11. CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS
Text 1
ENGLISH CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS
No discussion on the English way of life, or indeed anything to do with
England, is possible without taking into consideration such important aspects of the
English character as their faithfulness to traditions, or as some people prefer to call
this trait, conservatism. Indeed, this desire to retain ways of life and behavior, rituals
and customs in their initial form sometimes leads to what are, from a contemporary
and non-English point of view, absurdities. This desire is what differentiates the
English from most other nations, and is the subject of sharp criticism from the latter
but, at the same time, makes England an interesting place to visit as a tourist. We can
start with a well-known fact that in English cars the steering wheel is on the right and
they drive on the left. The English steadfastly stick to their old system and do not
want to become “like everybody else”. Theoretically, there is not a big difference.
The problem starts when you get behind the wheel, because it is in completely
different position from that to which you have grown accustomed. Two balancing
factors should be noted. The first is that it is extremely inconvenient, a lot more so
than you imagined. The second is that you get used to it very quickly.
Your first experience of independent travel around England is probably going
to be slightly unpleasant, amusing and sometimes sad, all at the same time, and so
when you rent a car in England do not forget to take out good insurance. The desire
to keep everything the way that it is, sometimes taken to absurd extremes, has
penetrated every aspect of English life and is rising noticeably year on year as a way
of preserving the distinctive national character. The struggle against any kind of
innovation affects English houses. It is forbidden to make any changes to them,
unless they are modern buildings, but most English prefer to live in old houses. The
ban on changing even windows and doors in these old houses forces the entire
country to do without double-glazed windows, which can be cold. Such loyalty to old
traditions almost never fails to move you. But English piping, plumbing and the water
supply system usually give rise to a number of inconveniences which never fail to
cause surprise among foreign users. It is hard to understand how anybody could find
it convenient washing under two separate taps, one with hot and the other with cold
water. At home it is possible to imagine filling up the washbasin and then splashing
yourself from there. But this separation is a complete mystery when it comes to
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