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Файл:Сферы общения. Учебное пособие по развитию навыков устной речи и межкультурной коммуникации
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There are many types of colleges in England. There are colleges within
universities. There are teachers’ training colleges, technical colleges of various types,
colleges of arts and commerce. Colleges give a specialized training. Those who wish
to become teachers spend three years at a teachers’ training college. They study
various subjects and learn how to teach, and after that they have practice teaching at
schools.
The University of Oxford was the first university in Britain. It was organized in
the 12th century as a federation of colleges. They are governed by their own teaching
staff known as “Fellows”. The oldest college, University College, was founded in
1249. Today, Oxford University consists of 35 separate colleges.
Cambridge University is also organized as a federation of colleges. Cambridge
was established by scholars from Oxford in 1208. The oldest college Peterhouse, was
founded in 1284. The largest college, Trinity, was founded by King Henry VIII in
1546.
WRITING TASK
Write about the first university in Russia (Moscow University). When was it
founded?
TRANSLATION 5.
US Universities
Harvard University is a private coeducational institution of higher education,
the oldest in the United States. In 1636 a college was founded. It was named in 1639
for English clergyman John Harvard, its first sponsor. From its earliest days Harvard
established and maintained a tradition of academic excellence and the training of
citizens for national public services. Many US presidents attended Harvard: John
Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy.
Yale University is a private coeducational institution of higher education in
New Haven, Connecticut. Yale is the third oldest institution in the United States. It
was founded in 1701. Each of the 12 colleges accommodates approximately 250
students and has its own library, living and dining facilities. It is headed by a master
and dean, who are both university faculty members. The first professional school
established at Yale was the School of Medicine; other graduate divisions are the
schools of architecture, art, divinity, drama, engineering, forestry and environmental
studies, law, music, and organization and management.
WRITING TASK
Write about graduate divisions at you faculty. What graduate division do you prefer?
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TRANSLATION 6.
Distance Education
Distance education over the world has a history of more than 100 years. But it
gained popularity only after 1970’s. Many countries like China, England, Japan,
Russia, Spain and the USA use this method, especially in higher education. For
example, the Open University in England has more than 80,000 students who take
about 140 courses per year. This university has 260 local teaching and 13 regional
information centres.
Such factors as age, place, and daily activity do not serve as limiting factors in
distance education. Distance education has two main advantages over traditional
education. The first advantage is a solution to the problem of teaching staff shortage
and the second one is the low cost of education which gives many people an
opportunity to receive higher education. It is a system of education for different
people at any age. This education allows each student to have an individual scheme
of study.
WRITING TASK
Write about the disadvantages of distance education. Does our university use method
of distance education?
Unit 3
Тексты по теме «Our Country and the World»
ТЕМАТИКА ОБЩЕНИЯ: 1. Выдающиеся памятники культуры в странах мира.
2. Национальные традиции России и других стран мира.
3. Родной край. Достопримечательности разных стран.
4. Выдающиеся деятели искусства разных стран и культур.
TRANSLATION 1.
English-Speaking Countries: Culture and Traditions
The word “culture” has a number of meanings. It often refers to music,
literature, art, and higher education. It also means the customs of a society and the
way in which people interact with each other.
Every culture has certain basic ideas which everyone accepted for granted.
These are fundamental things that everyone knows from his or her childhood, and
which are automatic to the people who live in that culture. They include everything
from the common courtesies (правила вежливости) and details of daily life to the
deeper issues of a person's place in society, of family, of life.
When a person enters a new culture, the basic customs and ideas that he or she
automatically accepted may no longer be true. The person faces a new set of customs
and attitudes to try to understand.
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Certain types of behavior are expected in English-speaking countries. The
Americans like to speak about their home, colleges and achievements. Nicknames are
much more often used in the USA than in Britain.
People in both countries consider time as an expensive object or material. They
talk about it in many different ways. They save it, waste it, spend it, kill it. They have
free time, leisure time, spare time. They invest in it and carefully budget it. Be polite
and friendly in public places. Daily showers and a fresh set of clothes are the norm.
Smile and people will smile with you.
WRITING TASK
Write about polite behavior in our country. What is the meaning of the word
“culture”?
TRANSLATION 2.
Cultural Differences
Knowledge of differences between cultures is one of the essential key skills
that modern people need to possess in order to work and learn effectively. It is
important to know cultural differences in order not to offend people of other culture
or be misunderstood.
The value system of culture is very important. The value systems of culture
shape public behaviours and beliefs. It is difficult to accept that one's own ways of
behaving, which seem perfectly normal, can be seen as strange and even rude in
another culture. But if a person does not try to observe his or her own culture
objectively and does not have an understanding of why other cultures do things
differently, it is inevitable that cultural mistakes will be made.
WRITING TASK
Write about strange behaviour of other people. Do you think that our own ways
of behaving are perfectly normal?
TRANSLATION 3.
The United States of America (the USA)
The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world after
Russia, Canada and China. The USA occupies the southern part of North America
and stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. The total area of the country is 9
million square kilometres. The population is about 230 million people.
The country is washed by three oceans: the Arctic, the Pacific and the Atlantic.
The country has many lakes, including the Great Lakes and many rivers, the longest
of which are the Mississippi, the Missouri and others. The highest mountains are the
Rocky Mountains.
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The USA is rich in natural and mineral resources: oil, gas, iron ore, coal and various
metals.
The USA is a highly developed industrial and agricultural country. The main
industrial branches are aircraft, automobile, electronic, metallurgical, chemical and
many others.
The United States of America is a federal state and a parliamentary republic,
headed by the President. The President is elected for a 4-year term and not more than
two times.
The USA is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia, a special federal area
where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. Washington is the center of
federal government but each state has its own capital and its own government. The
highest legislative power belongs to the Congress, consisting of the Senate and the
House of Representatives. The highest executive power belongs to the President.
There are two main political parties in the United States: the Democratic Party
(their symbol is a donkey), and the Republican Party (their symbol is an elephant).
Christopher Columbus discovered the American continent in 1492. But for the
Europeans the history of America started in the 17th century when in the year 1620, a
ship named the “Mayflower” brought 102 Englishmen, women and children to the
rocky coast. The Pilgrims landed and founded the colony they called Plymouth. The
ship’s passengers were Puritans (Pilgrims – as they are usually known) members of a
religious sect which was unpopular in Britain because its members wanted to reform
the Church of England. They came to America to found a community where they
could practice their religion without interference. The people living there were Native
Americans (American Indians).
The Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in 1776. The war with
Britain lasted eight years. The Louisiana region was bought from France in 1803.
California was taken from Mexico in 1848. Alaska was bought from Russia in 1867.
Thirty-five million immigrants from Europe went to the United States in the
nineteenth century. Slavery grew in the South. There was the Civil War between
North and South for five years. By the end of the nineteenth century the United States
became an industrial nation.
An American dream is to start with nothing, to work hard, and than to make a
fortune and to be successful. The famous Americans are Abraham Lincoln – the man
who freed the slaves; Charlie Chaplin – the man who makes you laugh; Ernest
Hemingway – the man of letter and adventure; Martin Luther King – the man who
was proud to be black; David Rockefeller – the man who made money from nothing;
John F. Kennedy – the President whose murder shocked the world.
WRITING TASK
Write about one of the states of the USA (its geographical position, economy and the
administrative structure). What country would you like to visit the UK or the USA?
Give your reasons.
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TRANSLATION 4.
Canada
Canada occupies a great part of the North American Continent. The area is 9
million square kilometres and is the second largest country in the world. The
population of Canada is 24 million people. English and French are the official
languages of Canada and have equal rights. Canada is a federation of ten provinces
and two northern territories. Ottawa is the capital of the country.
There are many lakes in Canada. The biggest of them are the Great Lakes
which are on the US-Canada border. Niagara Falls attract a lot of tourists from all
over the world.
Canada is a highly developed industrial and agricultural country. It is a world
leader in the production of nickel, asbestos and other minerals. Canada has an ideal
climate for growing wheat and barley. It is among the world's leading wheat
producers and is second in the export of wheat.
WRITING TASK
Write about Canada's political status. Would you like to visit Niagara Falls?
TRANSLATION 5.
Australia
Australia geographically is the sixth-largest country in the world and the only
one to occupy the entire continent. Its neighbouring countries include New Zealand to
the southeast and Indonesia to the north.
The Commonwealth (содружество) of Australia is a Constitutional monarchy.
The Queen of Australia is considered to be the Head of State. But under the
Australian constitution the role of the Queen is almost entirely ceremonial. The
highest executive power belongs to the Cabinet, whose members are chosen by the
governing party or by the Prime Minister.
Australia is divided into six states. Most of the Australian population descends
from the 19th and 20th century immigrants mostly from Great Britain and Ireland,
but from other countries in later years.
English is the main official and spoken language in Australia. A considerable
number of first and second-generation immigrants are bilingual.
Much of Australia's culture comes from Europe and more recently America,
but distinctive Australian features have come from the environment, aborigine
culture, and the influence of Australia's neighbours.
WRITING TASK
Write about the roots of Australian culture. Why are there so many bilinguals
in Australia?
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TRANSLATION 6.
Malta
Today, Malta is a popular holiday island in the Mediterranean Sea, but it was
not always an island: thousands of years ago, there was a large desert between Europe
and Africa, but at that time there were no people there.
Between 7000 and 5000 BC, people travelled across the sea to Malta. They
built the famous temples on the island. People used the island's natural harbours for
their ships, and they also traded with other countries around the Mediterranean from
these harbours. During the Roman Empire, Rome also controlled the island for seven
centuries.
The Arabs lived there for two centuries and gave the modern Maltese language
many words. The Spanish, the French and the British all came and left the island,
and, finally, in 1964, Malta became independent and can make its own laws and
protect its own people.
WRITING TASK
Write about any holiday island and its people. Would you like to live on a
holiday island?
TRANSLATION 7.
Iceland
Iceland, the island in the North Atlantic is larger than England and Wales, but
few people live here – only about 290,000, with over half in the capital city,
Reykjavik. Iceland is a country of amazing landscapes – blue lakes and lagoons, fast
rivers and waterfalls, mountains and volcanoes that erupt frequently.
Mount Hekla, in the south of the country, has erupted sixteen times in the last
thousand years, and, in one of the most violent eruptions of recent times, the volcano
on the island of Heymaey almost destroyed the town in 1973.
WRITING TASK
Write about the dramatic and peaceful life of the island, which is known for its
amazing landscapes. Is it necessary to protect such places?
Unit 4
Тексты по теме «Our City»
ТЕМАТИКА ОБЩЕНИЯ: 1.Общее и различное в странах и национальных культурах.
2. Международный туризм.
3. Мировые достижения в искусстве и архитектуре.
4. Мир природы. Охрана окружающей среды.
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TRANSLATION 1.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital of the Russian Federation, located on the banks of the
Moskva River in the west of the country. Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities
in the world.
Moscow was founded in 1147 by the prince Yury Dolgoruky. After 12371238, when the Mongols burned the city to the ground and killed its inhabitants,
Moscow recovered and became the capital of an independent principality
(княжество). In 1480, Ivan III had finally broken the Russians free from Tatar
control and Moscow became the capital of an empire.
The Kremlin and the Red Square are in the centre of Moscow. The Kremlin is
the oldest part of the city. It was built under the tsar Ivan III in the fifteenth century.
The Kremlin has a red brick wall, up to 21 metres in height with 19 towers that
surrounds palaces, cathedrals and other monuments. St. Basil’s Cathedral, a
masterpiece of Russian architecture was built in 1561 to celebrate Russian victory
over Kazan khanate (ханство).
Now, Moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is 9 hundred
square kilometers and still is growing up. The population of the city is about 10
million people. Moscow is the economic, political and cultural centre of Russia.
Moscow is a city of students. There are over 80 higher educational institutions,
including several universities; the most famous of them is the Moscow State
University.
Moscow is famous for its theatres and museums. The Bolshoy Theatre, the
Pushkin Museum of the Fine Arts, the Tretyakov Gallery and others are well known
all over the world.
Moscow has a modern underground system (Metro) famous for its beautiful
marble-walled stations. The first line of the Metro was built in 1935.
WRITING TASK
Write a description of one of the places of interest in Moscow. What places of
interest would you like to see?
TRANSLATION 2.
Washington, D.C.
The capital of the United States of America is Washington. It was named after
the first President of the United States – George Washington. It is situated on the
Potomac River in the District of Columbia. The district is a piece of land, which does
not belong to any one state but to all the states. The district is named in honour of
Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of America.
Washington was founded in 1791 as the capital. Washington is not a very large
city, but it is very important. The population of the city is nearly one million people.
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Washington has one major business and that business is government.
Washington has many historical places. The White House, the official residence of
the President of the United States is the oldest public structure in the capital. It was
built in 1799. There are more than hundred rooms in the White House. The largest
room in this building is the East Room, the scene of state receptions. On the second
floor, one can find the Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which
gave freedom to black slaves in the States.
In the centre of the city, on the Capitol Hill, the highest point of the city there
is the Capitol, the home of American Congress. It is the largest and tallest building
with white marble columns. There is a law in Washington against building structures
higher than the Capitol. George Washington laid the corner stone of the Capitol on
September 18, 1793. Not far from the Capitol there is the Library of Congress, which
holds five million books.
Other landmarks of Washington are memorials, dedicated to three American
Presidents. They are the Washington Memorial, built in honour of the first American
President, the Lincoln Memorial, which is devoted to the memory of the sixteenth
President of the USA, the author of the Emancipation Proclamation, which gave
freedom to Negro slaves in the US, and the Jefferson Memorial, built in the memory
of the third President of the USA, who was the author of the Declaration of
Independence.
Many people consider Washington to be one of the most beautiful cities in the
world. There are many parks, wide streets and impressive buildings. The capital has
world-known art galleries, museums and monuments.
WRITING TASK
Write a description of one of the places of interest in Washington. What museum
would you like to visit?
TRANSLATION 3.
New York
New York is one of the largest cities in the World. The population of the city is
12 million people. It is the capital of New York State. New York is situated on the
Hudson River.
Some call New York a poem in stone and steel, others a soulless monster. It is
unlike any other city in the world.
The centre of New York is Manhattan Island. In 1609 the English explorer
Henry Hudson entered the river which now bears his name and there in the mouth of
this river lay an island the Indians called Manhattan. Hudson’s sponsors, the Dutch,
arrived there in 1624 and purchased the island from the Indians for the equivalent of
twenty four dollars. That transaction remains the most famous deal of all time. Over
the next fifty years ownership of the property would change hands several times
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between the Dutch – who called it New Amsterdam – and the British who named it
New York, after the Duke of York, brother of then King Charles II.
New York quickly became one of the largest ports in the world.
New York attracts people from all over the world. Hundreds of thousands of
them settled down in that city. Emigrants from seventy countries and all the
continents of the world, all speaking their own languages, make up this «Modern
Babylon».
New York is the world’s centre of trade, finance, the arts, publishing,
entertainment, sports and tourism. Twenty-three million visitors explore the city each
year. In numbers and variety the museums of New York seem to overpower the
imaginations of the millions who visit them each year. There are four hundred art
galleries and the largest is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York’s theatres are
for every taste and pocketbook. The prestigious is the Metropolitan Opera House.
New York is a city of skyscrapers. The highest skyscraper is the Empire State
Building, completed in 1931. It has 102 storeys and its height is 380 metres.
Wall Street is the financial heart of the USA. The National Bank is situated there.
Broadway is the longest street in the city, 29 kilometres long. Broadway is the street
of the best known theatres and cinemas.
WRITING TASK
Write about the «Modern Babylon». What are advantages and disadvantages of living
in such big cities?
TRANSLATION 4.
Technology and Culture
Changes in technology bring changes in culture. A good example is the car.
Before cars and buses, most people couldn’t live far from their work, so there were
two types of people: town people and country people, with two different cultures. But
in the 1900s, town workers could get the bus or drive to work. So people started to
live in new suburbs (areas between the town and the country). Life in the suburbs was
different from town life and country life, so a new culture grew up – suburban
culture.
Cars changed town culture, too. Before cars and buses, walking was the main
way of getting around, and most people never went far from their homes. So people
often saw their neighbours in the street. Most people knew every family in their street
and could name every person. Cars changed that. Now, for the first time in history,
most of us do not know the people in our street.
WRITING TASK
Write about the changes in technology. What type of a person are you: town person
or country person?
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TRANSLATION 5.
Travel and Tourism
What’s the difference between travel and tourism? Being a traveller is more
than just being a holidaymaker. A holiday is just a short time away, and it normally
involves relaxation. Tourists stay in holiday resorts, not travellers. Travellers go for
the experience and their journeys are usually much longer and more challenging. For
example, travellers tend to avoid tourist traps and like to go off the beaten track to
discover new places. Travel is an age-old phenomenon, but tourism is a relatively
recent invention. Thomas Cook is often described as the first travel agent because he
arranged the first “package tour”: a 19-kilometre trip for 500 people, in 1841.
Going overseas in order to experience a different way of life is what many
people think of as travel, but travel does not necessarily mean going abroad. How
many people can say they have visited every part of their own country? Many people
who live in vast countries such as Russia and the USA have only visited a small part
of their own country, and so domestic travel is also very exciting.
Some people can’t travel or don’t like the physical reality of travelling to
faraway destinations. These days it is easy to be an “armchair traveler”. People can
visit distant corners of the world or even little known parts of their own country
without leaving their living rooms. Television documentaries make the world a small
place and some people argue that travel is no longer necessary. Perhaps soon people
will use interactive computer programmes and virtual travel will become common.
Enthusiasts argue that by doing this we will have all the benefits of travel without the
inconvenience.
WRITING TASK
Write about active or virtual tourism. How much of your own country have you
visited?
TRANSLATION 6.
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. A traveller and merchant, he was one of
the first Europeans to travel across Asia and into China. His journey lasted 24 years.
He set out, aged 17, with his father Nicolo and his uncle Maffeo on their great
journey to China. They sailed south from Venice, Italy and stopped off in the Middle
East. They then carried on overland to Persia (now Iran), through the Pamir
Mountains and the Gobi Desert before they got to China.
At that time, China was more advanced than Europe. They already had paper,
so large numbers of books were available. They also used paper money in many parts
of the empire.
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