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Файл:Английский язык. Страноведение. Учебное пособие
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Topics for reports (with presentations):
• The UK economy. Its main sectors and their role.
• London and other financial centres of the country.
• Industrial sector of the British economy.
• Trade unions of the UK. Their history and role.
• The economy of the USA
• The economy of Canada
• Australian political system.
• The economy of New Zealand.
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8. ART
When the Show Must Go On, Even Amid a Coronavirus Outbreak
Learning to perform without live audiences, or sometimes even theaters, as
artists adapt to trying circumstances.
Venice’s ornate opera house, La Fenice, has survived floods and been rebuilt
after devastating fires. So it was determined to keep going after the coronavirus
forced it to cancel its performances: This week a string quartet gathered in the empty,
eerily silent theater and played Beethoven, streaming the concert online and winning
an ovation of handclap emojis.
The outbreak forced the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to cancel all of its
concerts in February and March and left its musicians working from home, so they
began posting master classes on their WeChat page, along with informal videos
showing the players practicing at home and playlists designed to help people under
quarantine “fight boredom at home.”
“All the doctors and nurses were working so hard to help people, so we
thought: what can we do as musicians?” Hao Jie, the orchestra’s principal trombonist,
said in a telephone interview. “With everyone staying home for so long, we thought
of doing something for young people, for students interested in learning how to play
musical instruments.”
The videos have proved popular, with hundreds of thousands of views. “People
love it,” he said.
The pop world is reeling, too. When the K-pop superstars BTS released their
latest album last month, coronavirus fears and restrictions on big events forced them
to rethink the elaborate news conference they were planning. “We have decided to
carry out the press conference without any members of the press,” they announced
before streaming it live online.
In Switzerland, a performance of Strauss’s opera “Salome” at the Lucerne Theater
was nearly canceled after the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra was ordered to remain
quarantined because it had performed in northern Italy less than two weeks earlier.
And in Venice, where the Quartetto Dafne, made up of members of the opera
orchestra, played Beethoven and Borodin to rows of empty seats in the rococo
auditorium of La Fenice to stream online, it was unsettling to watch the players enter
in silence, and bow in silence.
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Tasks
Questions:
1. What types of art were affected by the Coronavirus outbreak?
2. What way out of the situation did the musicians find?
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One of the most __1__ things anyone can do is to make a work of art, whether
it’s a/an __2__ making a __3__ or a __4__ painting pictures. __5__ artists do it for
their own satisfaction and pleasure, but __6__ artists have to make a living from their
art and they are dependent on __7__ to sell their __8__ in city __9__. I myself have
three Picassos, a Botticelli and a Van Gogh. They’re __10__ not originals, but they’re
all I can afford.
Topics for reports (with presentations):
• British Museums
• Modern art (In your opinion, it is real art?)
• Great Britain's contribution to world culture
• Theatres in England
• Literature and art in England in the Elizabethan era
• The literature and art of England in the age of Enlightenment
• What about your favorite artist? What's your favorite artwork? What
emotions do you get from his/her works?
• My favorite musician/singer/band/composer. (talk about your favorite songs,
why you like the works of these people)
• At the theatre (talk about your best visit to the theater)
• Shakespeare's work and its role in UK culture
• Romanesque and Gothic styles in English architecture
• English and American poets
• Television in Great Britain
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9. SCIENCE
Science isn’t just for scientists
Chefs, musicians and gardeners often use the scientific method, though they
may not call it that. Their jobs — and many more — apply textbook principles of
science in the real world.
The science of cooking
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the chef at a Germaninspired beer hall and restaurant in San Mateo,
Calif. He also is culinary director for Serious Eats.
That’s an award-winning blog about “anything
food and drink.” In its Food Lab section, LopezAlt “unravels the mysteries of home cooking
through science.” He also wrote a bestselling book
on that topic.
At age 18, Lopez-Alt wanted to become a scientist, like his dad and grandpa.
He took biology classes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
He also worked in a biology lab. But being a scientist soon began to lose its appeal.
“Although I loved biology, I found the day-to-day lab work very boring,” he
explains. “I couldn’t see myself doing that for decades.”
Lopez-Alt still creates many new recipes by questioning assumptions. For
example, people often boil potatoes in plain, pH-neutral tap water. But roast potatoes
taste best with a crunchy outside and a creamy, flavorful center. To achieve that taste,
Lopez-Alt adds a little baking soda to the water. That raises its pH. The water is now
slightly basic (alkaline), instead of neutral.
Piano science
Like cooking, music combines art and science.
That’s also true when taking care of instruments.
“The process of tuning a piano is a physics
lesson in action,” says Don Mitchell. He’s a retired
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piano technician in Vancouver, Wash. He used to teach at the School of Piano
Technology for the Blind.
Mitchell grew up in Oregon in a music-loving family. At an early age, he was
fascinated by science. He loves to sing and plays the piano, guitar, banjo, mandolin
and bass.
Blind since birth, Mitchell relied heavily on listening to learn to play those
instruments. His job combines those listening skills with science. He uses the physics
of sound (acoustics), the mechanics of motion and the mathematics of musical scales.
Piano keys are mechanical levers for strings inside the piano. Pressing a key
makes a small hammer hit these strings. The moving strings cause molecules in the
air to vibrate. The vibration travels through the air as a sound wave.
The length and thickness of the string determine the frequency, or pitch, of the
sound wave. Short and thin strings produce high pitches, which we hear as tenor and
treble notes. Longer and thicker strings produce lower pitches, which we hear as bass
notes.
Problem-solving for airplanes
Lynze Price’s childhood dream was to become an
astronaut. In the end, she found a more down-to-Earth job:
She helps planes fly safely. At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University in Daytona Beach, Fla., she earned a bachelor’s
degree in aviation-maintenance science.
As a corporate aviation technician, she combines her
love of physics with her knack for fixing stuff. She calls
herself an “aircraft surgeon.” She must diagnose problems
and figure out how to solve them.
Caring for plants
Leslie Hunter also uses problem-solving skills to keep a system working well.
But she’s in charge of plants, not airplanes. She started her own vegetable garden at
age eight. Her parents tilled the ground, but she was in charge of all else.
In college, Hunter discovered horticulture. That’s the science and art of
growing fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants. Today she works in Iowa,
at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden.
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As part of her job, Hunter regularly tests soil pH and
levels of nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen. She
uses chemistry and soil science to decide which fertilizer
will best support which plants. For example, many green
leafy plants prefer more nitrogen. But in flowering plants,
extra phosphorus is a bloom booster.
The science of insects (entomology) and of plants
(botany) help Hunter control garden pests and weeds. That’s also important for
knowing when and how to prune shrubs and trees.
Vocabulary
acidic: An adjective for materials that contain acid. These materials often are
capable of eating away at some minerals such as carbonate, or preventing their
formation in the first place.
acoustics: The science of sound.
alkaline: An adjective that describes a chemical that produces hydroxide ions
(OH-) in a solution. These solutions are also referred to as basic — as in the opposite
of acidic — and have a pH above 7.
angle: The space (usually measured in degrees) between two intersecting lines
or surfaces at or close to the point where they meet.
antenna: (plural: antennae) In biology: Either of a pair of long, thin sensory
appendages on the heads of insects, crustaceans and some other arthropods. (in
physics) Devices for picking up (receiving) electromagnetic energy.
astronaut: Someone trained to travel into space for research and exploration.
autopsy: Examination of body tissues after a person dies, typically performed
to determine the cause of death.
botany: (adj. botanical) The field of biology that focuses on plants. The
scientist in this field is known as a botanist.
cell: The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. Typically too
small to see with the unaided eye, it consists of a watery fluid surrounded by a
membrane or wall. Depending on their size, animals are made of anywhere from
thousands to trillions of cells. Most organisms, such as yeasts, molds, bacteria and
some algae, are composed of only one cell.
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component: Something that is part of something else (such as pieces that go on
an electronic circuit board or ingredients that go into a cookie recipe).
computer model: A program that runs on a computer that creates a model, or
simulation, of a real-world feature, phenomenon or event.
computer science: The scientific study of the principles and use of computers.
Scientists who work in this field are known as computer scientists.
connective tissue: Certain groups of cells that attach to form the boundaries
for — and interfaces between — many structures throughout the body.
constant: Continuous or uninterrupted.
cultivar: Short for cultivated variety, the term applies to plants that have been
bred to exhibit particular prized traits.
DNA: (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, double-stranded and spiralshaped molecule inside most living cells that carries genetic instructions. It is built on
a backbone of phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon atoms. In all living things, from plants
and animals to microbes, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make.
electrical engineer: An engineer who designs, builds or analyzes electrical
equipment.
engineering: The field of research that uses math and science to solve practical
problems.
entomology: The scientific study of insects. One who does this is an
entomologist.
environment: The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or
the process and the condition those things create. Environment may refer to the
weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature and
humidity (or even the placement of things in the vicinity of an item of interest).
enzymes: Molecules made by living things to speed up chemical reactions.
evaporate: To turn from liquid into vapor.
fertilizer: Nitrogen, phosphorus and other plant nutrients added to soil, water
or foliage to boost crop growth or to replenish nutrients that were lost earlier as they
were used by plant roots or leaves.
frequency: The number of times some periodic phenomenon occurs within a
specified time interval. (In physics) The number of wavelengths that occurs over a
particular interval of time.
genetic: Having to do with chromosomes, DNA and the genes contained within
DNA. The field of science dealing with these biological instructions is known as
genetics. People who work in this field are geneticists.
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green: (in chemistry and environmental science) An adjective to describe
products and processes that will pose little or no harm to living things or the
environment.
hertz: The frequency with which something (such as a wavelength) occurs,
measured in the number of times the cycle repeats during each second of time.
horticulture: The study and growth of cultivated plants in gardens, parks or
other non-wildlands. Someone who works in this field is known as a horticulturalist.
These people may also focus on pests or diseases that affect cultivated plants, or
weeds that may bully them in the environment.
hypothesis: (v. hypothesize) A proposed explanation for a phenomenon. In
science, a hypothesis is an idea that must be rigorously tested before it is accepted or
rejected.
insect: A type of arthropod that as an adult will have six segmented legs and
three body parts: a head, thorax and abdomen. There are hundreds of thousands of
insects, which include bees, beetles, flies and moths.
lever: A rigid bar resting on a pivot. It is used to help move a heavy or firmly
fixed load with one end when pressure is applied to the other.
mature: (adj.) Connoting an adult individual or full-grown and fully developed
(non-juvenile) form of something. (verb) To develop toward — or into — a more
complex and full-grown form of something, be it a living thing, a technology or an idea.
mechanical: Having to do with the devices that move, including tools, engines
and other machines (even, potentially, living machines); or something caused by the
physical movement of another thing.
nitrogen: A colorless, odorless and nonreactive gaseous element that forms
about 78 percent of Earth's atmosphere. Its scientific symbol is N. Nitrogen is
released in the form of nitrogen oxides as fossil fuels burn. It comes in two stable
forms. Both have 14 protons in the nucleus. But one has 14 neutrons in that nucleus;
the other has 15. For that difference, they are known, respectively, as nitrogen-14 and
nitrogen-15 (or 14N and 15N).
nutrient: A vitamin, mineral, fat, carbohydrate or protein that a plant, animal
or other organism requires as part of its food in order to survive.
pectin: A water soluble substance that binds adjacent cell walls in plant tissue.
Pectins also serve as a thickener in making jams and jellies.
pH: A measure of a solution’s acidity or alkalinity. A pH of 7 is perfectly
neutral. Acids have a pH lower than 7; the farther from 7, the stronger the acid.
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Alkaline solutions, called bases, have a pH higher than 7; again, the farther above 7,
the stronger the base.
phosphorus: A highly reactive, nonmetallic element occurring naturally in
phosphates. Its scientific symbol is P. It is an important part of many chemicals and
structures that are found in cells, such as membranes, and DNA.
physical: (adj.) A term for things that exist in the real world, as opposed to in
memories or the imagination. It can also refer to properties of materials that are due
to their size and non-chemical interactions (such as when one block slams with force
into another).
physics: The scientific study of the nature and properties of matter and energy.
Classical physics is an explanation of the nature and properties of matter and energy
that relies on descriptions such as Newton’s laws of motion. Quantum physics, a field
of study that emerged later, is a more accurate way of explaining the motions and
behavior of matter. A scientist who works in such areas is known as a physicist.
pitch: (in acoustics) The word musicians use for sound frequency. It describes
how high or low a sound is, which will be determined by the vibrations that created
that sound.
psychologist: A scientist or mental-health professional who studies the human
mind, especially in relation to actions and behaviors.
role model: Someone whose skill, behavior and/or personality makes them an
inspirational ideal, the type who inspires others to model themselves after this person.
shrub: A perennial plant that grows in a generally low, bushy form.
software: The mathematical instructions that direct a computer’s hardware,
including its processor, to perform certain operations.
sound wave: A wave that transmits sound. Sound waves have alternating
swaths of high and low pressure.
starch: A soft white chemical made by all green plants. It’s a relatively long
molecule made from linking together a lot of smaller, identical building blocks — all
of them glucose, a simple sugar. Plants and animals use glucose as an energy source.
Plants store that glucose, in the form of starch, as a reserve supply of energy.
Animals that consume starch can break down the starch into glucose molecules to
extract the useful energy.
strategy: A thoughtful and clever plan for achieving some difficult or
challenging goal.
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