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Файл:Практикум устной речи (английский язык). Учебное пособие
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Очарование Британских островов
По всему южному побережью Англии высятся меловые скалы, но именно скалы Дувра породили огромное количество народных песен, стихов и картин. От Лондона до Дувра недалеко – примерно 100 километров, и ехать очень легко по прекрасной магистрали. Но Дуврские утесы лучше всего осматривать с моря, и туристические компании разработали для этого несколько морских
маршрутов. Скалы высятся над морем, их ослепительная белизна
стала первой приметой приближения к острову Великобритания
для многих поколений моряков. Их вид побудил римских завоевателей назвать Британию Альбионом (от слова albus – белый).
Название это и поныне употребляется поэтами и политическими
обозревателями. Последние, правда, зачастую добавляют к нему
эпитет «коварный», вслед за французами, обогатившими фразеологические словари многих стран мира этим словосочетанием –
«коварный Альбион».
И все-таки, когда пересекаешь Ла-Манш, не хочется думать о
«коварстве» этого острова – одного из самых красивых островов в
мире. Это факт, о котором даже сами англичане часто забывают.
Когда видишь рекламную брошюру, приглашающую туристов на
«прекрасные острова», можно быть уверенным, что среди них
Британские острова не значатся. Скорее всего, имеются в виду
Кипр, Тринидад или Таити. Спору нет, это прекрасные, романтические места, но они не идут ни в какое сравнение с Великобританией. Вероятно, это естественно для людей принимать как данное
красоту тех мест, где они выросли, и не удивляться ей. Но для
иностранцев она очевидна, хотя красоту такой страны, как Англия,
трудно описать, не рискуя показаться сентиментальным.
Думается, что ее главная прелесть – в необычайном разнообразии ландшафтов на весьма ограниченной территории. Великобритания — в сущности, небольшой остров, где каждый живет с
ощущением, что море находится совсем неподалеку, «прямо за
углом», как говорят англичане. И поэтому все, что надо, у них
«под рукой», сосредоточено на этом небольшом пространстве. Но все вокруг кажется (а часто так оно и есть!) какимто миниатюрным, «меньше, чем в жизни», как выражаются
англичане. И действительно, гора высотой в пять или шесть
тысяч метров над уровнем моря была бы здесь монстром,
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подавившим все вокруг, а река длиной с Волгу просто бы не
highland
a small rounded piece of something, especially a piece that is left
after the rest has been eaten, used etc
revive
a low plant with small purple, pink, or white flowers which grows
on hills
уместилась.
Пешая прогулка по любому из английских графств даст
вам возможность в течение одного дня увидеть все на этой
земле, что достойно того, чтобы быть увиденным: зеленые
долины, по которым текут реки, милые деревеньки, леса,
ровные поля, разделенные на квадратики живой изгородью,
вересковые пустоши, а уже через несколько часов пути вы
увидите живописные скалы, с которых низвергаются потоки,
и романтические пещеры.
5. Speak on “Lowland Britain”
6. Class Project. Find some information about geographic regions
of the United Kingdom. Make up a power point presentation on the
following topic: “Lowland Britain: a tourist paradise or a tourist
trap?”The following sites can be useful:http://geography.about.com/od/unitedkingdommaps/tp/united-kingdom-regions.htm
ЗАДАНИЯ
III. HIGHLAND BRITAIN
Section one. Conveying meaning
1. Warmer. Answer the questions: Do you know what the word
“Highlands” means? Can you guess the meaning of the word “the
loughs”? What do you know about King Author and the Knights of the
Round Table? Where is Land`s End situated? Do the Cumberland and
the Camberland mean the same?
2. Key words. 1) Transcribe the following geographical names.
Add the words to your working vocabulary.
The Lancashire Plain, Anglesey, Devon, Cornwall, the Lake District, Windermere, the Pennines, the Cheviots, the Cumberland, the
Camberland, The Highlands, Yorkshire, Hampshire, Wastwater, Wasdale Head.
2) Match the key words from the article you are going to read with
their meanings. Add the words to your working vocabulary.
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knight
in or relating to an area with a lot of mountains
nub
a valley – used in the past or in the names of places, especially in
the North of England
heather
a man with a high rank in the past who was trained to fight while
riding a horse
backbone
an area of lower land between two lines of hills or mountains, usually with a river flowing through it
invader
a wild open area of high land, covered with rough grass or low
bushes and heather, that is not farmed because the soil is not good
enough
bay
to bring something back after it has not been used or has not existed for a period of time
moor
in Ireland, a lake or a part of the sea almost surrounded by land
coomb
the row of connected bones that go down the middle of your back
valley
a peak of the mountain
dale
a deep narrow valley in Scotland or Ireland
glen
a soldier or a group of soldiers that enters a country or town by
force in order to take control of it
pike
narrow gully; hollow, gorge
lough
a part of the sea that is partly enclosed by a curve in the land
3) Some of the words from column 1 can have different meanings.
Read the definitions below and guess what words from column 1 they
match.
– the chess piece with a horse's head on it;
– to become healthy and strong again, or to make someone or
something healthy and strong again;
– an area within a large room or just outside a building that is used
for a particular purpose;
– a long-handled weapon with a sharp blade, used in the past;
Section two. Checking understanding
3. Reading. Read the text “The Highlands” from “English Cul-
tural Studies” by Mikhailov N.N..
The north and the west of the island of Great Britain are occupied by the highlands, here and there split by valleys. There
are even two big plains there: the Lancashire Plain and Anglesey.
England's farthest west, the counties of De von and Cornwall, has a reputation in Britain for “foreignness”. In the past,
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the Cornish people had even their own language which is now
being revived, they still keep up some customs that go back to
ancient times. Actually, neither Romans, nor Saxons could really settle in these places. It is the land where King Arthur and the
Knights of the Round Table were supposed to live. The historians say that this legendary king was the leader of the Cornish
people who fought so bravely against the Anglo-Saxon invaders.
This region is often called “England's Little California”, because it
has a warmer climate than any other part of England; it also has some
of the finest coast scenery, with dozens of wonderful bays, stretches of
golden sand, and fine cliffs. The utmost westerly point of the peninsula
is called Land's End, popular for holidaymaking and surfriding because
it is the only place in Great Britain where great ocean waves called
“rollers” can be enjoyed. Practically there is no difference between
summer and winter temperatures. As in real California, fruit, vegetables, and flowers are grown for winter and spring markets of other parts
of the country. The hillsides are covered with heather and remain green
all year round, except August, when they become purple because of
flowering heather. This type of scenery – hills covered with heather – is
called the moor.
The English names of types of landscape are often confusing. For
instance, the words moor and heath refer to the open areas covered with
heather, but a moor is hilly, while a heath is flat. In other cases, the
things may be similar from the geological point of view, but the vegetation that grow there or the shapes of hills may be responsible for the use
of different terms. For instance, a valley between the hills is called a
coomb in Cornwall, a chine in Hampshire, a dale in Yorkshire, a glen in
Scotland. From the geological point of view, they are alike, but the colour or/and the shape of rocks are different: the hills around a Cornish
coomb are covered with heather, while on both sides of a Hampshire
chine are bare cliffs, and the hills on both sides of a Yorkshire dale are
more round, resembling a basket of eggs.
Travelling further to the north, you get to Cumberland. The place
most popular with the visitors because of the Lake District, made famous in the end of the 18th century by the great Romantic poets
(Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southy) who lived and worked there. The district contains the nub of mountains, the highest in England, from which
radiate a number of valleys, most of them containing long lakes. The
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most famous of them is Windermere – the largest lake in England. The
place is frequented by goers, who enjoy walking over and round the
heather-covered mountains called fells. The place is also an attraction
for the rock-climbers, as there are many rocks with sharp-pointed summits called the pikes.
If you move from the Lake District along the border with Scotland,
you have to cross the Cheviots – the 35-mile range of grassy hills noted
for the sort of sheep that graze on them – cheviots. It is one of the loneliest places in England, as there are no towns or even big villages there.
Northern England also includes the Pennines – “the backbone of Eng-
land” – a chain of hills that runs down to the Midlands, separating the
Lancashire Plain from the Yorkshire Moors. On the moorland between
the hills, which Emily Bronte described in her novel "Withering
Heights", there are many small lakes, called here “loughs”, similar to
the word the Scots used for lake, “loch”. The lakes are small but beautiful. To the south of the Moors the land becomes low-lying. This part of
the county is called Yorkshire Dales – the scenery, described by John
Priestley as most wonderful, where everything worth seeing on the
Earth is packed within short distances.
4. Comprehension check. 1) Explain the following concepts in
English. Add the words to your working vocabulary: Knights of the
Round Table, England's Little California, Land's End, the Lake District,
Windermere, the Pennines.
2) Write out from the text the sentences or their parts, which contain the following words and phrases and translate them into Russian:
being revived, heather, nub of mountains, to be noted for smth, the
backbone of England.
3) Explain in English what is meant by the following: invaders,
a bay, holidaymaking, surf-riding, the moor, a heath, a coomb, a dale,
a glen, the goers, a fell, a pike, cheviots, “the loughs”.
4) Answer the following questions.
a) What is the reputation of the counties situated in the western
part of England?
b) Who was King Arthur of the Celts` legends? What enemies did
he fight against?
c) Why is this region called “England's Little California”?
d) What place is called Land's End? Why is it popular with the
surf-riders?
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e) What term is used to describe the scenery of the West Country?
Can you explain the difference between the types of landscapes described by the terms “moor” and “heath”?
f) What types of valleys are described by the terms “coomb”,
“dale” and “glen”?
g) What place in the north of England is especially popular with
the visitors? What attracts them there? What does the place look like?
Do you remember the name of the largest lake in England?
h) What term is used to refer to the people who like to walk over
the mountainous places? And those who like to climb the mountain
peaks? What is the difference between the fells and the pikes?
i) How long is the Cheviot chain of hills? What sort of place is it?
Do they look different from the hills in the Lake District?
j) In what direction does the Pennine chain of hills stretch out?
Why is it called the "backbone of England"? What places does it separate? In what well-known English novel the place called Yorkshire
Moors is described? What is the difference between the moors and the
dales? Why did the writer John Priestley like the Yorkshire Dales?
5) Find all geographical names you learnt studying the UK physical map given at http://www.justmaps.org/maps/images/uk/englandmap2.jpg
http://www.mapsofworld.com/physical-map/uk-physical-map.html
Section three. Consolidation and creative work
5. Writing. 1) Read the text «Озерный край» from “English
Cultural Studies” by Mikhailov N.N. Write down the Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases: the brown nub of mountains,
in addition to, rowing and sailing, the seaside, Carlisle, a quieter place,
a farmhouse, the low season, swarming with tourists, coaches and private cars, to be satisfied with visiting Wordsworth's cottage, to get a
better view of the scenery, to climb the rocks, to take away with them,
growing population, the moors are built over, under the protection of
the National Trust, the natural attractions of the place.
Озерный край
… Если вы посмотрите на физическую карту Англии, то в ее
левом верхнем углу, на коричневом фоне горного массива вы увидите несколько овальных синих пятен – озер. Это один из самых
живописных районов Англии, потому что помимо самих озер, ко-
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торые необыкновенно красивы, там есть и зеленые долины, и покрытые лесом холмы, и низвергающиеся со скал водопады. Здесь
можно и рыбу половить, и искупаться, и походить на веслах и под
парусом, и потому многие предпочитают отдыхать в Озерном
крае, а не на взморье. Больших городов в Озерном крае нет. Самый
крупный из них – Карлайл, насчитывающий около 70 тысяч жителей. И в этом городе, и в городках, расположенных неподалеку от
наиболее известных озер, вроде озера Уиндермир, туристический
бизнес вполне налажен. К услугам приезжих имеется достаточное
количество гостиниц. А если вы предпочитаете более тихое место,
можно устроиться в деревне или на ферме.
Благодаря особенностям местного климата зимой здесь, так
сказать, мертвый сезон. Но летом и осенью от туристов нет отбоя,
особенно в выходные дни. Они прибывают сюда в автобусах и
личных машинах, чтобы полюбоваться местами, связанными с
жизнью и творчеством Вордсворта и других знаменитых поэтовромантиков. Некоторые довольствуются посещением дома-музея
Вордсворта, известного как Дав-Коттедж, другие поднимаются на
холмы, чтобы лучше разглядеть окрестности. Некоторые отправляются в горы, чтобы полазать по скалам. Вероятно, многим хотелось бы поселиться в этих благословенных местах, но, поскольку
это невозможно, каждый спешит набраться впечатлений, чтобы
увезти в своем сердце воспоминания о них.
Когда-то Англия была сплошь покрыта густыми лесами. Теперь они занимают ничтожную часть ее территории. В этой сравнительно небольшой стране, с ее постоянно растущим населением,
природные ландшафты всегда в опасности: леса вырубаются, болотистые места осушаются, вересковые пустоши застраиваются
домами. К счастью, Озерному краю это, по-видимому, не грозит:
большая часть его, особенно места, связанные с поэтамиромантиками, взята под защиту «Национального треста». Так что
есть надежда, что первозданная красота здешних мест будет сохранена для потомков
2) Using the words and phrases from Ex. 4.1 summarize the information presented in the report you`ve listened. Render your summary emphasizing in it (a)its subject matter, (b) the facts discussed, (c)
the author`s and reporter`s points of view, (d) your own commentary to
the author`s treatment of the subject.
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6. Speaking. Speak on the Highlands of Britain.
Bedfordshire = Beds
Berkshire,
Buckinghamshire =
Bucks,
Cambridgeshire =
Cambs,
Cheshire,
Cornwall,
Cumbria
Derbyshire = Derbys,
Devon,
Dorset,
Durham,
East Riding
East Sussex
East Yorkshire = E.
Yorks
Essex, Gloucestershire,
Greater London,
Hampshire,
Hertfordshire = Herts
Hertfordshire = Herts,
Huntingdonshire,
Kent,
Lancashire = Lancs,
Leicestershire = Leics,
Lincolnshire,
Manchester = Mancs
Merseyside
Middlesex,
Norfolk,
Northamptonshire =
Northants,
Northumberland,
Nottinghamshire = Notts,
Oxfordshire,
Rutland,
Shropshire = Shrops,
Somerset,
South Yorkshire,
Staffordshire = Staffs,
Suffolk,
Surrey,
Tyne and Wear
Warwickshire =Wars,
Westmorland,
Wiltshire,
Worcestershire = Worcs,
West Sussex
West Yorkshire
7. Class Project.
a) Make up a power point presentation:
– Geographical peculiarities and attractions of the British Isles.
– Is Highland Britain really high?
The following site can be useful:
http://www.picturesofengland.com/mapofengland
b) Print and fill in the outline map of Great Britain using the geographical names you learnt:
(http://www.mapsofworld.com/britain/britain-outline-map.html).
IV. GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS AND ECONOMY
London and the Home Counties
Section one. Conveying meaning
1. Warmer. Answer the questions: Do you know how many coun-
ties there are in England? Can you name some of them? Do you know
what some counties famous for?
2. Key words. 1) Transcribe the following geographical names.
Add the words to your working vocabulary. Find the counties on the
map given below.
Counties of England (46 counties)
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2) Match the key words from the article you are going to read with
county
a place where the water has special minerals in it, and where
people go to improve their health by drinking the water or
swimming in it
commuter
the official line that separates two countries, states, or areas,
or the area close to this line
spa
an area where people live which is away from the centre of a
town or city
dormitory
town
part of a town consists of private houses, with no offices or
factories
suburb
an area of a state or country that has its own government to
deal with local matters
boundary
all of someone's property and money, especially everything
that is left after they die
border
to die or make someone die by preventing them from breathing
frontier
someone who travels a long distance to work every day
suffocate
the real or imaginary line that marks the edge of a state, country etc, or the edge of an area of land that belongs to someone
residential
a town that is near a city with more work opportunities, so that
many people who live there travel to work in the city every
day
estate
the border of the country often in the context of wildness,
danger and uncertainty
their meanings. Add the words to your working vocabulary.
3) Fill the gaps in the sentences using the words BORDER or
BOUNDERY.
– The property's boundary line is 25 feet from the back of the
house.
– History gives a lot of examples of boundary disputes between
neighbouring countries.
– This is a market town on the border of England and Wales.
– He fled across the border to freedom.
– Anything that crosses the boundary of a black hole cannot get
back.
– To cross the border, you will need a valid passport.
– The two governments have settled their differences over their
common border.
149
– National boundaries are becoming increasingly meaningless in
the global economy.
– We would need their agreement to build outside the city boundary.
– The coach took us south of the border to Tia Juana.
– The stream curves round to mark the boundary of his property.
– We walked through the churchyard towards the boundary wall.
– The Mississippi River forms a natural boundary between Iowa
and Illinois.
Section two. Checking understanding
3. Reading Read the text “London and the Home Counties”
from “English Cultural Studies” by Mikhailov N.N.
Being the capital of the country, London was the first city affected
by the recent administrative reforms, carried out in Britain. It provided
the model later copied by other big cities. In the 1920s the County of
London had been created which included the suburbs of the city with a
population of 4.5 million people. The London Government Act of 1963
created a new County of Greater London. It included the built-up de-
velopment around the city with eight million inhabitants, together with
the old county known as "inner London" (about three million inhabitants). It included parts of the surrounding counties, and the whole county of Middlesex, which ceased to exist as an administrative area.
London contains more people than the whole of Scotland and
Wales taken together. Still it has not enough people to fill its industrial,
commercial and government offices. That is why many people who
work in London have their homes far away. Usually they go up to London every day by suburban train. In English there is a word to refer to
regular travelling between home and work – "to commute". That is why
much of the counties situated in the neighbourhood of London in the
Thames valley (Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex, Hertford, and Hampshire)
are often called "Commuter Land". Another term to refer to this area is
"Home Counties", which emphasizes their being "homes" for London
office workers. And still another term is "the dormitory suburbs of
London", which emphasizes their main function for the people who
spend most of the day away from home.
The Home Counties do not have big cities or towns. But some of
them are worth mentioning because they are, as English people say,
"thick with English history". Canterbury is famous for its ancient ca-
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